


Vigilante Justice

by Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Reunited team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan/pseuds/Calico_Cat_TIVA_Fan
Summary: When several random killings are linked by the type of bullets used and the weapons from which they were shot, Tim McGee figures out a connection that links all of them. To solve the case, he calls in the two people he trusts the most to bring the perpetrator to justice.Warning: multiple major character deaths and traumatic scenes with kids
Relationships: Delilah Fielding/Timothy McGee, Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 19
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: If you are a Gibbs as father figure fan, this fic is probably not for you. If you are a Nick Torres fan, again probably not going to be for you. There are some scenes that may be disturbing in that children witness a shooting of someone they know.

Chapter 1 Prologue

Halloween Night 2023, London: He watched the woman as she walked from the bus stop towards her flat. Still dressed in black and carrying that blasted black lace parasol, he noted. She looked up and noticed him sitting on the step for her building.

The woman rushed to him, squealing in delight. She opened her mouth to greet the familiar face but before she could get a word out, he raised his pistol with the silencer and shot her in the temple.

"'That's for Reeves; it's your fault he's dead. You shoulda never fell for that fake invite that set up the kill." He showed no remorse as he turned and walked away from the body of the former forensic scientist.

~Vigilante~

5 November 2023, DC: " _This just in… breaking news. Former Navy petty officer Christopher Ferris, accused of murdering five retired high-ranking Naval officers, has been assassinated in a sniper-style take down. Authorities say he was being escorted from what should have been his arraignment at US district court when a bullet struck and killed Ferris. No other injuries were reported."_

~Vigilante~

17 November 2023, US Federal Prison, VA: Alejandro Rivera was surprised to learn that he had a visitor. He was taken to a private visitation room in shackles. When the guard opened the door he saw a familiar face, one that had caused him much pain and that was responsible for his current living arrangement.

"What are _you_ doing here?" was all he had a chance to say. The words had barely escaped his mouth before the bullet tore into his brain. The body crumpled to the floor as the visitor tucked the weapon into his jacket and buzzed for the guard to let him out of the small room.

"Gotta clean up in there," the man told the guard as he exited.

~Vigilante~

2 December 2023, Baltimore PD: "Officer down at the Camden Yards," the caller ended the call to the 911 center abruptly. Dispatch sent two patrol cars to investigate.

"Gonzales, car 352, at Camden Yards; two officers fatally shot. No suspect in the area. Send the coroner; they're both gone."

~Vigilante~

15 December 2023, NCIS: Tim McGee took the call at exactly 1012; he remembered the time later because he had just glanced at his watch when Torres had tried to sneak to his desk. Late again; it was becoming a habit with the agent. Ellie Bishop, his SFA, noted the time as well as her boss's phone rang.

"McGee," Tim answered the phone; his face turned grim as he listened to whoever called. Ellie shrugged as Torres and Alden Diamond, the fourth and newest member of the MCRT, both looked over to her. "Yeah, we're on it." He lowered the phone from his ear and let out a breath with a whoosh. This was going to be one hell of a case; his gut was in knots already.

"What's up, Boss?" Diamond queried the team leader. "We got a case?"

Tim scrubbed a hand over his face, "Yeah, and it's a doozy already. Guards found the body of that Marine who was charged with murdering those two teen boys in Reston; the one that was acquitted on a technicality. He was dropped at our main gate about fifteen minutes ago. Nobody saw anything…"

"Damn," Torres shook his head in disbelief.

"Grab your gear, guys, and let's go see what we got," Tim led his team to the elevator. He rubbed his temples; he was getting a headache already…


	2. March 2024

Chapter 2 March 2024

Tony DiNozzo's cell phone rang with the ring tone for Tim McGee. The phone was sitting on the coffee table in the DiNozzo living room. He tried to shake the two little girls off his back to answer the call.

"Hey, Ziva, would you or Tali answer my phone, please? It's McGeek," he called out towards the kitchen where his wife and oldest were starting some baking.

Ziva appeared in the doorway, "Why can you not…" She trailed off as she saw her husband's predicament. Both of the little DiNozzo girls were atop their Daddy's back and not moving. Three and one half year old Ariella was stubbornly seated cross-legged in the middle of Tony's back. Two year old Arianna followed her older sister's lead and had planted herself between Ariella and her Daddy's head.

Ziva grabbed Tony's phone and swiped the screen, "Yes, Tim." She listened and then put the phone on speaker.

"Hey, guys, sorry to bother you in the middle of the day, especially since it's Tali's spring break, but I need to talk with you both," Tim's voice came over the speaker.

"What's up, Probie?" Tony carefully maneuvered himself from under his little Ninjas as Ziva moved to help get the girls off his back.

Tim sighed loud enough for the other two to hear him through the phone, "How soon can you get to NCIS? We need to meet in person and talk in a secure room. Can't use regular phones; I'll explain more when you get here."

Tony looked over at Ziva; she checked her watch before she replied, "We can be there in an hour and one half. Does that work?"

"Yep, do you have someone to watch my nieces? If not, you can bring them along. Johnny and Morgan are downstairs with the other school-aged kids who are on break. Tali can visit with them and the double-A squad can chill with the preschoolers."

"That sounds like a plan, Probie," Tony nodded at Ziva as he spoke. "We'll see you shortly." He ended the call and looked over at the doorway where Tali stood watching her parents and little sisters. "Sorry, Tali-T, your baking is going to get postponed. Ima and I have to meet with Uncle Tim at NCIS."

"Oh," she sighed with disappointment. "We were going to make cupcakes from scratch; challah, too… Do you _both_ have to go?"

Ziva hugged her daughter, "I am sorry, yaldati. Hopefully this conference with Uncle Tim won't last long and we can get home and bake up a tornado."

"Storm, Ima," Tali winked at her Daddy as she corrected Ima. "Will Johnny and Morgan be there?"

"Yes; they are in the NCIS daycare. We'll take you and your sisters there before we meet Uncle Tim," Tony replied. "You can play with your cousins until we are done with the meeting."

The two little girls picked up that the family was going to see Uncle Tim and the cousins. Both jumped up and down in excitement, "Uncle Tim! Johnny! Morgan! Aunt De!" With only fifteen months age difference, the two tended to feed off each other.

Tony tried to calm the two down as Ziva and Tali put away baking ingredients and cleaned the kitchen. "Little Ninjas need to use _inside_ voices, please," he chastised. "And we need to get ready to go; shoes on, potty stop, go bags."

Exactly eighty three minutes from the end of the call, Tony and Ziva stepped off the elevator into the orange walls of the NCIS bullpen.

"Nothing's changed, has it?" Tony pseudo-whispered to Ziva. "Still orange, still a hub-bub of activity…"

Ziva smirked at her husband, "No Gibbs, no head-slaps, no over-excited lab rat…"

"True, so very true," he replied. "Hey, Tim the Team Man; what's up?"

Tim looked up from his computer, "Hey guys; I'll be right with you. Gimme a sec to log out of this database." Tony and Ziva both noted that their former teammate was at the team leader's desk; the desk once occupied by Gibbs.

Ellie heard a familiar voice and swiveled her chair, "Hey Tony; hey Ziva. What brings you here?"

"You are SFA?" Tony grinned. "I _told_ you that you would be a good agent…"

"Congratulations, Eleanor," Ziva smiled at the blonde. "I am sure Tim relies on your judgement and experience to do a good job as Senior Field Agent." She turned to Tim's old desk, "Hello, I am Ziva."

"Alden Diamond," the agent stood and held out a hand, which Ziva and then Tony shook. "You two are legends around here."

"Legends smegends," Nick grumbled from the desk once occupied by Ziva. "Who needs legends when the team has me?"

"Oh, hello, Nicholas," Ziva nodded at the agent. "Ready for that rematch?"

Tony smirked, "Yeah, I wanna see her kick your ass again."

"I _let_ her win," the younger man asserted emphatically.

"Get back to work, Torres; Ellie, I'll be in the Director's office for a while in a secure conference," Tim motioned for Tony and Ziva to follow him up the stairs. "If a case comes in, handle it please."

"Gotcha, Boss," Bishop gave a thumbs' up to the team leader.

The three former teammates entered the Director's outer office. Cynthia looked up and grinned. "Wow, I _never_ thought I'd see the three musketeers together again in these walls. Glad I got to see you before I retire next week."

"Congrats on the retirement; we sure enjoy the life," Ziva smiled as Tony high-fived the administrative assistant. " _One_ good thing Eli did for Ziva; he left her a small fortune."

"Go on in, Director Vance is waiting for you."

"Come on in, Agent McGee; bring the DiNozzos in so I can secure the room," Leon Vance rose from his desk and motioned to the large conference table. "Have a seat, everyone." He pressed the hidden button to create a secure zone, motioning to the others to remain quiet until the green 'SECURE' LED lit in the center console on the table.

Leon placed two agent badges on the table; Ziva and Tony's old badges to be exact. He noticed them both looking at the badges with a questioning look, "We will explain in detail and we will come to these." He motioned to the badges and placed them aside for the moment.

"As you may know, I am retiring as of Friday at the end of the day," the Director began. "Officially, I will be retired, but unofficially, I will be working with Agent McGee on a top-secret mission that will be handled on a need-to-know basis for all except the four of us in this room, SecNav, and a handful of others. We have a situation that has gone international, and it involves at least one NCIS agent or former agent, I should say.

"Agent McGee made the connection among a string of what appeared to be random killings of individuals who had skirted the law, escaped prosecution, or managed to be acquitted on a technicality. Before I turn that part over to him, I have to add some information that I just received regarding the request of Luca and Kyle."

"Abby's brothers?" Ziva recognized the names.

"Yes, they came to me about two months ago when Scotland Yard wrote off the murder of Ms. Sciutto as a mugging gone bad."

Tim paled, "Wait, Abby's dead?"

"I'm sorry to say, that, yes, Ms. Sciutto is no longer with us. She was shot execution style by a close-range bullet to the head. No one heard or saw anything and the detectives in London believe the killer or killers used a silencer on a pistol. There were no signs of a struggle, but her bag and its contents were strewn about when police arrived on the scene.

"The investigation concluded that an unknown assailant was most likely trying to mug her when the mugging was interrupted. The mugger panicked and shot her. Her brothers came to me because they believe she was murdered deliberately. They have no proof, but for some reason, I trusted their instincts. As it turns out, security footage from a nearby building has come to light and a person can be seen approaching Ms. Sciutto as she walked from her bus stop. She seemed to know the individual and was rushing to greet the man as he fired into her temple. He stood over the body for a minute or so before leaving."

"Wow, just…" Tony, Ziva, and Tim were stunned. Tony looked over at Tim; he could see wheels turning in the younger man's head. "What is it, Tim?"

"I… I… was just thinking… thinking that, well, how the way she was killed is very similar to what happened when Clay Reeves was shot," Tim shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence…"

"RULE 39," the DiNozzos spoke together.

Vance nodded at Tim, who proceeded with his part of the information, "We have several cases of what appears to be vigilante justice that I have been able to link together by getting reports from the various agencies that handled them. First, we have the sniper-style assassination of Christopher Ferris outside the courthouse when his arraignment went south. That was in early November of last year. I was able to get the case file from Metro PD; the bullet that killed Ferris was a lone .308 round from a Bravo 51.

"A month later, the Baltimore PD had an anonymous 911 call about an officer down. Someone shot two cops who had been accused of extreme force with multiple suspects, but were still on active duty. Again the kill shots were two .308 rounds from a Bravo 51. The officers were on a call about a lone figure seen prowling about the Camden Yards parking garage. BPD homicide believes it was a set up.

"Almost two weeks later, we had the body of that Marine who was acquitted of killing the two teen boys in Reston dumped at our front gate. Jimmy dug a bullet out of the guy's brain. Kasie's analysis showed…"

"Let me guess, a single .308 round from a Bravo 51," Ziva was putting the pieces together and exchanged a look with her husband. Both were thinking one person, hoping that it wasn't true.

"Yep, and I'm betting there are more cases that we haven't learned about yet; that was what I was entering in the search parameters in the national database of homicides and unsolved murders," Tim explained.

"Then there's Alejandro Rivera," Vance spoke again. "He had a visitor at the prison in mid-November and wound up dead. Shot to the head with a 45 caliber round. Forensics determined it came from a Colt M1911A1 with a silencer. I just printed the full report from London before you came in, so I haven't had a chance to read over the information."

"Let me see the report, please," Ziva spoke up. All of the others knew of her ability to speed-read and glean information. Vance handed the papers over to her willingly and with a smile.

"Never know when you need those Mossad skills, eh?"

Ziva skimmed the pages, and found what they need on the sixth page. "Here it is," she pointed to the bottom third of the page. "Shot at close range with a 45 caliber weapon, most likely a Colt M1911A1 with a suppressor attached. Single shot to the temple."

Tony cleared his throat, "Okay, the .308 Bravo 51 brings two people to mind; one of them is long gone to meet his maker. Sorry, Zi. The other… well, what weapon was he using when he retired?"

"When he was forced to retire," Tim corrected. "About a year after you left Tony, he started using his Dad's Colt M1911A1… I'd hate to think that…" He looked at the others; Leon had a grim look on his face; Tony and Ziva were making eye contact with shocked expressions.

All four looked at each other, "RULE 39!"

"So, where do we come in?" Tony motioned between Ziva and himself.

Vance shifted the badges back in front of himself, "Tim and I need your help in bringing this to an end. The four of us know Gibbs well; we know how he thinks. With your approval, I am going to re-instate you both as Special Agents for the duration of the case. What do you say?"

Tim watched as his former teammates carried on an entire conversation with just their eyes; he never understood how they did it, but it worked for them somehow. Of course, he'd also been privy to the more casual side of their eye-language; 'eye-sex' some called it. The pair were experts at _that_!

"Yes, we will do it," Ziva answered for both her and Tony. "There is only one stipulation."

"And that is?" Vance queried.

"If our girls need to go into protective custody, they go with Delilah. She is the only one we will trust with their safety," Ziva explained as Tony nodded agreement.

"Let's hope we don't have to go that far, but if so, your wishes will be honored to the best of my and NCIS' ability," Vance agreed. "Even if it means I have to oversee their protection myself."


	3. April 2024

Chapter 3 April 2024

Tony and Ziva set up a home office from which to work so that they could stay at home with the younger girls and maintain their routine. A secure line was installed for communication with Tim and Leon; Tim also set up a secure server private network for the four of them to use outside of NCIS so that no prying eyes would find any information about the investigation and tracking of the former team leader.

Leon officially retired on Friday, 29 March, but as per SecNav retained his credentials and NCIS-issued firearm for the duration of the case. It was Leon Vance who made connections to several other cases around the country of cops gone bad suddenly meeting their demise, or of several accused killers who escaped conviction on technicalities or plea deals meeting an untimely end. All fit the pattern the four had established and once reports were obtained from the investigating agencies, the ballistics matched the two weapons already known to the secret team.

Because Tim had to also perform his team leader duties with the current MCRT, the other three often worked at the DiNozzo house during the day and filled their fourth team member in on anything new at night or on the weekends.

Ziva was sorting through the various case files they'd obtained, while Tony was plotting the different murders on a map. When he got to Abby, he had to put a Post-It note on the Atlantic Ocean on the US map on the wall. The goal was to establish a clear time-line and also try to determine how Gibbs chose the targets.

"Ziva, do we have any others on the West coast besides that one from Oregon?" Tony looked over to his wife as she moved files around.

She shook her head, "No, just that one. Other than Abby, that is the furthest away from the DC area that we have." She looked over at Tony's map, "Most are within a day's drive of here." She noted the cluster of Post-It flags on the East coast and in the Ohio valley.

"Are there any where we can track a clear pattern of travel, such as back-to-back locations?" Leon was working on a time-line on a large white board. "Can we trace his movement with any of them?"

Tony frowned and looked between the two visual displays, "So far, the pattern fits a lone operative. That fits with what we know of how Gibbs operates; lone wolf. But if he is acting alone, how is he getting information to know where to be and when?"

"Or from whom?" Ziva added. "Is someone feeding him information, and how?"

Tony was about to reply when a little form appeared in the doorway. Ariella yawned and reached for her Daddy. "I wanna snack, Daddy. Please?"

He picked up the three year old and tussled her hair, "Are you the cookie monster? Or the fishy monster?" She giggled and squirmed to get down as another pair of little arms wrapped around his legs. Two year old Arianna tried to tackle her Daddy.

"Me hungee; me want cookies and fishies," the toddler grinned. She looked over at her mother and noticed the third adult in the room. "Oh, hi, Unka Leon."

Ariella ran over to her 'new' uncle where he was sitting at the large table. She raised her arms to give him a hug; Leon pulled her into his lap.

"How are you today, Ariella?" Leon smiled at the little girl as her younger sister ran over also. Leon lifted her into his lap as well.

"Me fine; are you gonna have snack wif us?"

"Fishies," Arianna added. "Mmmm, good fishies."

"I think," Ziva stood up from her chair, "That we should all have a snack. Then the adults can get back to work while some little girls play."

While the adults and children were enjoying the snack, Ziva's cell phone rang. She picked it up and noticed that Delilah was calling. She swiped to answer the call.

"Hello, De, how are you today?" Ziva greeted her friend.

"Hey, Ziva; just wondering if you and the family want to come over on Saturday for some family time," the other woman replied.

"Let me check with Tony," Ziva put her hand over the mic on the phone. "De wants us to come over on Saturday for some family time; okay with you?" Tony nodded. "De, yes, we will come over," she spoke into the phone. "What ti…"

"Oh, my," Delilah interrupted Ziva's question. "What is Gibbs doing watching my house?"

"WHAT? I am going to put the phone on speaker so Tony can hear you," Ziva placed the phone on the table and hit the icon for speaker option. "Where is he?"

"The kids are out back playing; I looked out the front window to check if the mail has come yet. He's in his truck across the street from the house. Should I go out and talk to him?"

"NO!" Ziva, Tony, and Leon all responded at the same time.

"Um… okay?" De was wondering why they were so emphatic and to whom the third voice belonged.

"Delilah, stay where you are. Leon Vance and I are on the way over there. Get the kids inside if you can and keep an eye on Gibbs. Lock the doors and stay on the line with Ziva until we get there," Tony took charge immediately. Gibbs presence outside the McGee house was no coincidence, nor was it innocuous.

Tony handed Ziva one of the secure cell phones, "If things get ugly or if she goes off the line, use this to call Tim and the locals ASAP. Hopefully we won't need it."

"Oh. My. God. Ziva, what's going on? Should I be scared?" De could hear the urgency in Tony's voice; it frightened her, but she wasn't sure why.

"I cannot tell you over the phone; once Tony and Leon get there, they will explain. Are Johnny and Morgan inside or still outside?"

"Outside; should I get them in?"

Ziva thought for a few seconds; on one hand she wanted her niece and nephew to be safe, but on the other hand, she didn't want to tip off Gibbs that they were on to his stalking. "Um, is the fence still locked with the keyed lock?"

"Yes."

"Is it locked now?"

"I think so; Tim likes to keep the gate locked since the kids got out and went on their little hike out of the neighborhood," De replied.

"Let them stay outside so Gibbs does not get suspicious; keep an eye on him. If he moves towards the house or the gate, get the kids inside quickly. Tony and Leon should be there in a few minutes," Ziva tried to stay calm for her friend. She moved the girls to the family room and put a Disney video on for them to watch.

"If he leaves, let me know," Ziva realized that Tali would be getting off the school bus in about fifteen minutes. Luckily their house was about two hundred feet from where the bus stopped each day. "Okay, what do you see?" she had to distract both of them from worrying about the children.

"He's just sitting in the truck, kinds slouched down and staring at the front of the house. Ziva, it's creeping me out," De was honest. "Oh, I see Tony's car coming up the street. And I think Leon's SUV is coming the opposite way."

"Good," Ziva focused on the fact that Gibbs was still in front of the McGee house as she looked out her own front windows. No unusual vehicles or people in sight; she felt a slight relief, but continued to watch.

"Looks like Tony is going to block him from moving and, oh, he's getting out of the car. Gibbs isn't moving at all. He's staring at Tony and I don't think he even sees Leon behind the truck."

Out front of the McGee house, Tony approached Gibbs' truck cautiously. He noted that Leon was approaching from the rear with a hand on his holstered weapon. Tony tried to maintain eye contact with Gibbs but the older man's eyes darted from mirrors to Tony to the sides of the truck.

Tony got close enough to call out, but didn't get a chance before Gibbs stepped out of the truck and spoke.

"Ah, DiNozzo, you can just get moving along; nothing for you to pry into here," the former team leader sneered at his one-time SFA. "And take Leon with you."

"Just want to talk, Boss," Tony mentally slapped himself; he hadn't meant to use the familiar term to address the man.

"Not your boss; not for a long time. Never was _his_ boss," Gibbs jerked a thumb at the retired Director.

Tony held out his hands, showing that he intended to be non-threatening, "Okay, Jethro, can we talk?"

"Only friends call me that."

Tony sighed, the man sure was being difficult on purpose. "Okay then, GIBBS. Just wanna talk, is that okay?"

"Got nothin' to say to you."

Leon stepped into Gibbs' line of sight, "How about to me?"

Gibbs sneered, "You? The one who took away my job? And gave it to _that_ one?" He pointed at the McGee house. "Got nothin' to say to you either."

"We can get you help; arrange for a counselor or mental health professional to meet with you," Leon tried again.

Gibbs turned to Vance quickly and snapped at him, "Ain't nothin' I need help with; just doin' okay and doin' things _my_ way. You gotta problem with that?"

"Yeah, we do, Gibbs," Tony tried to diffuse the anger he could hear in his former boss's voice. "Your own words… vigilante justice isn't good for anyone."

"Kinda changed my mind on that one, and I am not doing anything wrong. I'll best be heading home now so you two goons can back off," Gibbs snarled and tried to give the two former coworkers his best Gibbs' glare with the steely blue eyes. "And tell McGee that he better watch his six."

"Is that a threat?" Leon stepped closer to the man who once was his best team leader. What had happened to him?

"Take it any way you want; I'm going home." Gibbs got back in his truck and started the engine. He shifted into gear and steered around Tony and drove off.

The two men shook their heads in disbelief and returned to their vehicles. Both pulled into the McGee driveway and strode to the front door.

Inside, De told Ziva what she saw in the street. "And now he's driving off; Tony and Vance are heading up my front walkway." She opened the front door, "Hey, come on inside and tell me what is going on!"

Ziva let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She listened as Tony and Leon entered the house while watching for Tali's school bus to arrive at the bus stop. She saw the familiar yellow vehicle stop and Tali and three other kids exited the door. Ziva opened her front door and checked the street; nothing out of the ordinary.

"Tali's home," she called to the two little girls. They came running from the family room to greet their big sister.

~Vigilante~

Saturday was a warm and sunny day; a great day for two families to unwind from the week and enjoy each other's company in the outdoors. The kids were all happily anticipating a day of playing and fun, while their parents were planning to put the stresses of the week on the back burner for a few hours and enjoy just relaxing together. Unfortunately _that_ particular Saturday turned out to be anything but fun and relaxing.

The DiNozzo family arrived at the McGee house around 1100; Tim had the bouncy house set up in the backyard for the kids to play. Delilah and Ziva planned the menu of hamburgers, chips, soft drinks, and brownies ahead of time. They tried to make foods that all of the kids would eat. After lunch, the two families piled into their respective vehicles and drove to the kids' school for an afternoon of family fun and games.

As the families were headed back to the McGee house, Ziva spotted Gibbs's truck at the end of the street.

"Tony, straight ahead on the left, behind the red Mustang," she spoke quietly, not wanting to alarm her girls.

"Gotcha," he replied just as quietly. "Text whoever is not driving the McVehicle and let them know."

Ziva glanced over her shoulder at the vehicle behind them; Tim was in the passenger seat. _'G in truck; up by red Mustang. 600 ft on left.'_ She hit the send icon and waited for a response.

_'Eyes on. Play it as if we did not notice.'_ She read Tim's response to her husband.

Both vehicles turned into the McGee driveway; Tony stayed on the right so that he and Tim could talk between vehicles without shouting.

"Get the kids inside; one or more of us needs to confront him," Tim quickly took charge. "Tony, you go inside with De and the kids. Ziva?"

"Yes, Tim?"

"You good with confronting Gibbs with me?"

"On your six," she gave a thumbs' up.

De had been getting herself prepped to exit the vehicle; her wheelchair was all she needed. She nodded at her husband to let him know she was ready to move.

"Okay, on three, we move; Tony, kids into the house. De, chair and inside; Ziva, watch the kids and Gibbs as much as you can. One, two, THREE," Tim hit the fob to open the SUV's doors and hatch. Tony and Ziva exited their car and quickly released the two little girls from their car seats.

"Tali, follow your father into the house; make sure your sisters don't dawdle," Ziva pointed to the open garage door. "GO!" She noticed movement up the street and saw Gibbs' truck inching closer to the McGee property.

Tony herded the five kids into the garage and then into the house; De followed and he held the door for her. "What's the most interior room in the house?" he asked as she passed by him. He hit the garage door closer switch on the wall panel and grabbed the pistol Tim had hidden behind some boxes of old computer parts on a set of shelves near the entrance to the house. He checked that the clip was in place and the safety on; then tucked the weapon in his waistband.

"Half-bath and coat closet in the hallway between the front door and the kitchen area," De rolled in that direction calling to the kids to follow her. "Active shooter practice, guys, let's go!"

Outside, Ziva and Tim watched as Gibbs stopped at the end of the driveway. The driver's side door faced the house. Tim pulled his small caliber pistol from the SUV glovebox. He motioned to Ziva to get behind him.

"Let me try to talk to him," she whispered as the pair slowly approached their former team leader's truck.

"You sure?"

"Yes," she stepped in front of Tim and raised her hands. "I am unarmed. I just want to talk to you, Gibbs. Let me come closer."

She watched as Gibbs lowered the window. "Three steps closer; that's all," he barked at her. She did as he instructed and kept her hands where he could see them. "Just you, Ziva. McGee, stay back."

"Okay, Boss."

"Not your damn boss anymore," a scowl from the silver-haired former agent and his voice tone had Tim concerned. He had the pistol in his hand, pointed downward, but ready to raise it if needed.

"What are you doing, Gibbs? Why are you here?" Ziva tried a calm and soothing voice.

"Public street, last I checked."

"Okay, but why here? Why by the McGee house?" Ziva kept the calm and soothing tone.

"HIM," Gibbs jerked his chin towards Tim. "Took my job. When did you have two more kids, Ziva? You and DiNozzo turn into rabbits?"

Ziva forced herself to focus on Gibbs; she knew he was trying to distract her attention. "What about McGee, Gibbs? Why are you here at his house?"

Tim watched as Gibbs reached down to the seat of the truck; he drew the pistol up and aimed it at his former boss, "No sudden moves; keep your hands where I can see them."

"Geez, McGee; ain't gonna shoot you," the older man sneered. "Ya stole my job; if ya want _my_ life, ya better be prepared to sacrifice family for the job."

Ziva tried the calm tone again, "You retired Gibbs; Tim didn't steal your job. He is the best qualified to replace you."

Gibbs made eye contact with Ziva; he tried to use the infamous Gibbs' glare on her, but she resisted. "Didn't _choose_ to retire; he and Leon helped them force me out. He just better be ready to lose it all for the job." With that he shifted the truck into gear and floored the accelerator, squealing tires as he sped off.

Ziva yanked her phone out of her pocket; she swiped the screen and pressed a button, "Recorded the conversation." She held up the phone as Tim grinned at her.

Once back inside, the adults decided to keep the plans for the day so the kids wouldn't get upset. Instead of playing outside, the parents agreed that they would be safer staying inside. Only Tim and Tony went outside to check the yard.

As the four McGees and five DiNozzos sat down to dinner, a loud bang was heard echoing in the yard. Tim and Ziva moved cautiously to the front windows, while Delilah herded the kids to the interior bath and closet again. Tony slid over to the patio door to check the backyard. The bouncy house was collapsed and Tony could see the tear in the fabric, cause unknown until further investigation.

He hit a speed dial key on his secure cell.

"Vance."

"Leon, we're all at the McGee house, there was what sounded like a single gunshot fired into the backyard. No injuries, but the bouncy house is dead in the water," Tony gave the retired Director a quick assessment. "How soon can you get here?"


	4. May 2024

Chapter 4 May 2024

Tim scrubbed a hand over his face as the three team members of Operation Silver Fox worked in the office at the DiNozzo house. He figured he'd had about three hours of sleep per night since Delilah, Johnny, and Morgan had been hurried off to protective custody. He glanced over at Ziva and then at Tony; he could tell the stress of not knowing where their daughters were was wearing at them. Tali, Arianna, and Ariella were also whisked away to protective custody about two weeks after his family.

~ _Flashback to April_ ~

_Leon arrived at the McGee house followed by Tim's team. Diamond was the first to arrive on scene and helped Tony and Ziva secure the property. Tony was impressed with the young agent and mentioned it to Ziva._

_"Tim's got a good Probie there," he motioned in the direction of the newest MCRT member. "Kid's got a future with lots of promise."_

_Ziva nodded, "I like him. He has a good eye for detail and he has good instincts. Tim chose well."_

_"MY influence," Tony smirked. "Remember Tim was my Probie."_

_"You flatter yourself as usual," his wife smirked and touched his face with her free hand. "He learned a lot from you; I WILL give you that."_

_Ellie arrived at the house, "Sorry guys, I was at a movie when the message came in. My phone was on silent and I forgot to put it on vibrate."_

_"You're here, which is more than I can say for the fourth member of the team," Tim came out to the backyard with the others. Leon was inside on a secure line to SecNav. "Anyone seen or heard from Torres?"_

_Both Ellie and Alden shook their heads; neither had seen their teammate since getting off work the day before. Tim's regular cell chimed with a text alert. He swiped the screen._

_"Speak of the devil…_ 'stuck in traffic. Eta unknown' _" he read from the screen. "Good thing we have two trained investigators to help out here," he nodded at Tony and Ziva as his way of letting his MCRT know that the couple were indeed part of the investigation._

 _'_ We got it; go home,' _Tim shot back a message to the errant team member. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket; whatever excuse Torres had was not going to derail his mind from the current situation._

_"Boss," Diamond called out to his team leader. "Found something." He motioned to Tim from where he was standing alongside the collapsed bouncy house. Tim, Tony, and Ziva hastened to the man's side._

_"What ya got?" Tony looked over at Tim as the words came out of the team leader's mouth. When had McGee started channeling Gibbs?_

_Alden used his pen to point to an indentation in the metal part of the air pump for the kids' fun space. Bits of the plastic housing were scattered around the area. "Looks like a bullet embedded in the metal," he moved so the others could examine the find._

_"McGee," Ellie called out from where she was examining the hole in the bouncy house fabric. "Think I found the cause of the collapse." She pointed to a large shard of plastic from the pump housing that was caught in the shredded fabric. "Puncture by plastic."_

_Ziva looked towards the direction the bullet must have travelled; no obvious vantage point from which the shot could have been made jumped out at her. However, she knew well enough that a trained sniper could make a nest in the oddest of places._

_Vance stepped out onto the patio, "McGee, DiNozzos; a word with you inside?" The three left Diamond and Bishop to gather evidence, to bag and tag items to go to Kasie Hines for analysis, and to wrap the remains of the bouncy house in plastic for transport to NCIS._

_Inside, the three followed Leon to the inside hallway where Delilah waited. "What's up, Director, um, Leon?" Tim saw the look on his wife's face and tried to stop his mind from thinking worst-case scenarios. He moved next to her and held her hand as Leon brought the three up to speed._

_"SecNav has approved relocation of Delilah and the twins to a safe house for protective custody. I have volunteered to stay with them for protection and for communication with the outside world. We both agree that this should take place immediately, given the credible threat recorded by Ziva during your conversation with the subject of interest. I have a go-bag in my SUV so I can leave as soon as transportation arrives. Delilah sent the kids to choose some toys and personal items to take with us," he looked from one grim face to another as he spoke. Damn, he hated to take Tim's family, but their safety was utmost. At this point, none of them could even anticipate the former agent's next moves._

_"Damn," Tony whispered to Ziva. "That sucks for Tim." She nodded as the kids all came from the bedroom hallway. The DiNozzo girls had been sent to 'help' their cousins choose items to take along on a 'vacation' with their mom and Uncle Leon._

_Tim leaned down to his wife, "Are you okay with this? I'm… I'm not… sure…"_

_De cupped her husband's face in her hands, "After hearing that threat, and with what just happened, I want to be where you don't have to worry about the safety of me or the kids. I trust Leon and I know you do as well. Hopefully this won't be for very long." Tears streamed down her face as she spoke; Tim started crying also._

_Tony and Ziva turned away to give the couple a few moments of privacy; Tali, Arianna, and Ariella were saying goodbye to their cousins. The kids had a group hug; Tali sensed the mood of the adults and held her cousins extra tight._

_Ziva bent down to Johnny and Morgan, "Take good care of your mom, and do as Uncle Leon tells you, okay?" She drew the two McGees into a hug, "I love you."_

_"Love you too Aunt Ziva," they chorused._

_Ziva stood as Delilah called to her. She walked to her friend, no her sister, and hugged the younger woman. "We will be okay; take care of yourself and the twins. I will do my best to take care of Tim," she felt De hug tighter and sniffle._

_Tony hugged the young McGees, "Bet you'll have some cool movies and TV shows where you're going. And the best part is you get to go on a vacation with your mom." He tried not to let the tear slip from his eye, but it rolled down his face anyhow._

_"Tony," De spoke into the hug. "Watch out for Tim for me."_

_"We got his six, always; me and Ziva. The 'Three Musketeers' are a dream team," Tony swiped at his eyes as more tears threatened to leak out._

_Leon's secure phone rang; he answered it and listened for a few minutes. "That was SecNav's head of personal security. He is waiting for us at the fast food restaurant near the entrance to your subdivision. We'll take my SUV to meet him and then swap vehicles. SecNav is giving us one of her armored SUVs to travel to the safe house." He nodded to Tim to say his goodbyes to his family._

_Tim hugged each of his children, "Take care of Mom and listen to Uncle Leon. I'll see you soon." He mentally added '_ I hope' _to his words. "Go with him to his SUV now."_

_Tony and Leon escorted the kids out to the vehicle. Tim hugged his wife and more tears were shed. Ziva took her girls to the kitchen for a snack to give the other two some privacy._

_"De, I will get him and then get you and the kids back home as soon as possible," Tim bit back a sob. "I… hope within the next two weeks…"_

_"Shh, Tim. Don't make promises you might not be able to keep," she ran her hand over the back of his head. "We gotta do what we gotta do." Tears streamed down from her eyes; she sniffled._

_Tim smiled through his tears and backed up to see his wife's face, "Did you just quote HIM?" He kissed her gently._

_"Time to go," Tony came back inside. "Kids are strapped into Leon's SUV." He watched as Tim followed De out to the vehicle and helped her into the passenger side. Tim folded her wheelchair and placed it in the cargo area. He shut the hatch and patted the back of the vehicle to let Leon know they were good to go._

_Ziva came up behind her husband and wrapped her arms around him, "My heart is breaking for them; I hope we NEVER have to do similar."_

_"Never say never, Sweetcheeks."_

"Tim?" Ziva's voice pulled him from the flashback.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

Tim scrubbed his face with his hand, "Yes… um… no… um… I really don't know?" he looked at Ziva and saw the concern on her face. She knew him too well, but he appreciated her concern.

"I know you miss them," Ziva put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We _will_ get him and bring them all home." She knew how much she missed her girls; she could compare Tim's hurt to her own there.

"Yeah, I know, but it's getting frustrating with nothing we can pin on him to take to an indictment, let alone get charges to stick," Tim sighed. "I know you guys miss your girls as much as I miss my family. At least we know they are all in good hands."

~ _Flashback_ ~

_About two weeks after Delilah, Johnny, Morgan, and Leon went into the safety of protective custody, the DiNozzo family had their own encounter. Ziva and Tony walked with the two preschoolers to meet Tali at her bus stop on a drizzly spring afternoon in mid-April. It was warm enough that they let the two little ones splash in the puddles as they walked._

_The short walk was to get all of them out of the house after being cooped up for four days straight of rain, downpours at times. The parents were frustrated with lack of progress on the cases and finding anything that they could use to make an arrest or to take to higher ups to press charges against their former boss._

_"I see da bus!" Arianna yelled out to her parents. "Tali is home! YAY!"_

_Ariella echoed her younger sister, "Tali's home! Yay!" She stomped in a large puddle with both feet to emphasize her words, making a big splash. Both girls giggled and splashed again. Ziva smiled at her two; it was worth changing their clothes when they got back to the house to see the pure joy on the children's faces as they played in the puddles._

_Tali climbed down the steps of the big yellow vehicle behind one of the neighborhood boys. She waved to her friends still on the bus, "See you tomorrow." As her feet hit the pavement, two little bodies rushed to her, embracing her with hugs. "Hey, rug rats," she wrapped an arm around each of her little sisters. "Were you good for Ima and Daddy today?" Tali acknowledged her parents, "Hi, Daddy; hi, Ima."_

_"Yep," both replied at once as the girls headed in the direction of home with their parents behind them. The two youngest DiNozzos filled their big sister in on the day so far as they walked._

_Ziva squeezed Tony's hand in hers, "I love that the two little ones adore their big sister."_

_"She is a great big sister, isn't she?" he agreed with a smile. While Tali had been a bit apprehensive about adding a sibling when they'd told her about the pregnancy with Ariella, she had been totally enthralled with the little one from the moment Tony brought the then almost six and one half year old to meet her baby sister at the hospital. When told about the second pregnancy, the elder DiNozzo child had grinned._

_"That's a GOOD thing; my sister will have someone to play with when I'm at school_ ," _the girl had reasoned out loud. She had not been old enough to understand that Arianna had been totally unplanned and her parents'_ oops _baby. Fifteen months difference in age was becoming even less noticeable as the two little DiNozzo girls grew._

_As the family walked back to their house, both parents were constantly checking the area for any unusual activity, people, vehicles, etc. All seemed good until the family turned into the driveway; Tony spotted the familiar truck parked about three houses further up the street._

_"Shit!" he muttered under his breath and nodded in the direction of the truck to Ziva. "Figured he be around sooner or later."_

_"Yes, I did as well," she replied. "Play it calm; I do not want to alarm the girls if we do not need to."_

_"Agreed," he watched the truck and his family. Tali held Arianna up to check the mailbox; the little girl grabbed the sale flyers and other advertisements from the box as if they were a found treasure._

_Ziva watched the truck slowly approach their driveway; she met gazes with Tony as the girls happily chatted on the way to the front door._

_"When you gonna introduce me to those little ones?" the familiar voice broke the couple's eye contact from each other._

_Tony took a deep breath in as Ziva squeezed his hand; she knew of the less than happy parting between her husband and their former boss. She'd not spoken to the man since leaving NCIS to return to Tony and Tali in 2019._

_Tony stepped towards the truck, trying to lock eyes with Gibbs, "When you apologize for treating me like shit and ignoring my daughter when I left." Gibbs didn't bat an eye as his former SFA continued, "AND for not even asking me what I believed when I gave you plenty of clues that night I came to your basement…"_

_Ziva listened to her better half; she knew just from Tony's tone of voice that he was letting go of some of the hurt from so long ago. He'd let go of the anger after realizing that it was only hurting him, and that his focus needed to be on Tali and keeping her safe from the threat on her mother._

_"Wasn't talking to you, DiNozzo. Got nothin' to say to you." Gibbs knew how to hurt even with his words; Tony gritted his teeth and exhaled a sigh._

_Ziva stepped between the two men, "When cows fly; I have nothing to say to you until you make it right with Tony." She hoped her mangled idiom would comfort Tony even slightly. "My family is none of your concern."_

_Gibbs smirked, "Sure would hate to see you have to be apart from your children again, Ziver. Better keep an eye on those girls at all times. Be careful what you do and say these days." He floored the accelerator and shot off down the street._

_"Damn him!" Ziva spat out. "Let us go inside and call Tim."_

_Three hours later, the heart-wrenching separation of family played out yet again, this time in the DiNozzo house. Tali, Ariella, and Arianna were loaded into Tim's NCIS car to meet Leon Vance at a highway diner to make the transfer for transport to the secure location with the McGee family._

_"Ima, I'll watch out for my sisters; you and Daddy watch out for each other," Tali hugged her mother. She was old enough to understand a basic overview of the situation and what was about to go down. At almost ten years old, she quickly processed what her parents told her and assured them that she would be her little sisters' guardian._

_Tony wept as his little girls hugged their Daddy. "Love you munchkins; be good for Uncle Leon and tell Aunt De and Johnny and Morgan we say hi."_

_As Tim backed out of the driveway, the DiNozzo parents held each other tightly and sobbed. Tony made a silent promise to his girls that he would bring them home as quickly as possible._

"Sorry, I was remembering…" Tony looked over at his teammates. "We do this for _them_ ," he reiterated as he grabbed one of the new case files they'd acquired and began making notes. Those were _not_ tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes.

~Vigilante~

In Alexandria, a lone figure descended the stairs to the basement of a familiar house. The man already present glanced up from sanding the boat hull.

"Anyone suspect anything?" he asked the newcomer.

Nick Torres grinned, "Not a thing." He handed the older man a folder of computer-printed pages. "Here's all of the info you requested."


	5. June 2024

Chapter 5 June 2024

_Near Capon Bridge, West Virginia_

Delilah wheeled into the living room of the large farmhouse where she and the kids had been staying with Leon Vance since April. When the three DiNozzo girls joined them about two weeks later, she had a sinking feeling. While the adults never discussed the case and all of the ramifications in front of the kids, she and Leon had spent many a night on the front porch chatting about 'what ifs' and wondering how long they would be staying at the house.

On the plus side, with eight bedrooms in the house, each person had their own room. Ariella often retreated to Tali's room after the adults went out on the porch; she would crawl into bed with her big sister for the night. Johnny and Morgan also often wound up in the same room; comforting each other to sleep.

De noticed Tali sitting apart from the others, staring at the dark screen of her new tablet. Rather than risk any tracing or tracking of the kids' existing electronic devices, a few days after they arrived at the safe house, Leon had driven to Winchester, Virginia in search of new tablets for the children. He returned about two hours later with five brand new devices. With the secure network at the house, Leon and De were able to set up limited internet access so the kids had some entertainment other than the two large televisions with satellite feed.

"Tali," De spoke quietly so that the other children didn't look up. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

The girl met her aunt's gaze, "How long are we going to be here, Aunt De?"

"I don't know; even Uncle Leon doesn't know," De started to explain to the girl, but something in her look caught the woman's attention. "This isn't about being here directly, is it?"

Tali nodded, "I miss Daddy and Ima. We've never been apart since, well, since, forever. I don't remember much about just me and Ima, but Daddy has always been with me, even when we were waiting for Ima to come home." She stayed quiet and stared at the floor. De waited.

"I mean, every birthday that I can remember, there has been at least one of my parents there. And since my sixth birthday, _both_ Ima and Daddy have always been with me. What happens this year, Aunt De? We were supposed to have a big party for my tenth birthday, but now…" she trailed off as she gestured to their living space.

"Sweetie, I can't promise that your parents will be here. But, I _can_ promise that the seven of us will celebrate your day," De tipped Tali's chin up so that she could make eye contact with the DiNozzo child. "Tell you what, why don't we plan a special dinner and some things to do together that _you_ want to do?"

"Anything I want?" Tali brightened up a bit. "Anything?"

Leon came over to the two; he'd been listening in to the conversation. "Anything we are able to do, we will. Special meal; maybe some fun stuff. It has to be safe, and if we leave the premises, I'll need some back-up agents to help me protect you all."

"I want pizza for dinner; pepperoni, sausage, double cheese, and black olives, just like Daddy gets at the pizza place by my school," her eyes lit up at a familiar memory. "And birthday cake with candles, and chocolate cake. And ice cream, we have to get ice cream. Daddy always says that special occasions mean we get to have ice cream. And I want to do something like a family, please?"

Leon and De met gazes, slightly nodding to each other to indicate that the two would discuss Tali's birthday party in their nightly 'porch talk.'

"I'm not making any promises _yet_ , but I will promise to do my best to make your wishes come true," Leon pulled Tali into a hug. "That work for you?"

She nodded against his chest, "Yeah; thanks, Uncle Leon."

~Vigilante~

_Alexandria, Virginia_

Gibbs quickly skimmed the pages from Torres; a copy of the marriage license and record of the marriage of the DiNozzos; birth certificates for all three DiNozzo girls; property records for the house the couple purchased in eastern Maryland; financial data, including banks, accounts, and balances in said accounts. Similar information for the McGees. For Tim, he was most interested in the financial data; the man had a considerable amount in an investment account. Most likely proceeds from the books Tim wrote.

"Ya done good, Torres," Gibbs closed the folder and slipped it into his decoy toolbox with other files containing important - to Gibbs - information. He retrieved a second folder from another dummy toolbox and handed it to Nick. "Your first outside job."

"Cool," Nick thumbed through the documents and images in the folder. "Got approved for the day off for a 'dentist appointment.' They will never know."

Gibbs opened a cabinet and showed Nick the sniper rifles from which he could choose. "Find your fit," the former agent told Torres. Nick perused the selection; he chose one of the rifles and held it up. It didn't quite feel right, so he replaced it in its rack and selected another. Second one also didn't quite have the right feel as well. He was about to select a third rifle when Gibbs handed him one that had not been in the cabinet with the others. It smelled off fresh cleaning solvent and gun oil. He held it to his shoulder and pretended to shoot.

"This is _the_ one," Torres grinned at his former boss. "How did you know?"

"Gut."

_Near Queenstown, Maryland_

Tony sighed and cursed, "Damn; how long is it gonna take to get something we can pin on Gibbs? This is getting really annoying…"

Ziva patted her husband's shoulder, "I am also frustrated. Maybe the tracking devices on Gibbs' truck and Torres' motorcycle and car will tell us something. I _still_ cannot believe that Tim suspects Nick of feeding information to Gibbs. Well, yes, I can believe Tim's instincts, but…"

"I _know_ what you mean; hard to believe Torres would turn on his employer and on Tim by helping our former boss with his vigilante justice." Tony stood up and stretched and wrapped his arms around Ziva. "I want our family home."

Both computers popped up email alerts from Tim on the secure account. Ziva opened her email as Tony looked over her shoulder.

' _NT tracker shows subject is at G location. Data stored for future use.'_

"Shit," Tony's frustration level was peaking. Having one suspect to pin down was hard enough; adding another person to the mix was going to make their work even more difficult.

"Perhaps this is a good thing?" Ziva suggested, sensing Tony's current mood. " _TWO_ people involved means it is more likely one of them will slip up and give us something useful."

"Maybe," he grumbled in reply. "Let's take a break; I need to clear my head." He took Ziva's hand and started towards the kitchen; then changed his mind and pulled her to their bedroom. The one thing that could distract them both…

~Vigilante~

Leon stepped out onto the farmhouse porch; De had been outside about five minutes. "Little DiNozzos finally asleep," he noted. "I swear if I had rubbed Arianna's back any longer, _I_ would have been asleep."

"You're a good man, Leon. Your fatherly instincts are shining through," De smiled at her companion. "It's a side of you I've never seen."

"My bad; I should have been there for Kayla and Jared when they were little. Jackie was always the one to soothe their nightmares, listen about their day, and so on. I was too busy building my career and climbing the ladder at NCIS," Leon sat down on his favorite chair.

"You did what you had to at the time. Is that why you are doing _this_?"

Leon shrugged, "Maybe; I don't know. I just feel like I _have_ to protect you all. DiNozzo, I mean Tony, Ziva, and Tim were the best team that I've _ever_ had work under me. I kinda feel like I _owe_ them for some of the times I took advantage of that." He fell silent.

"And, NO, it wasn't because they worked for Gibbs. It was in spite of that they worked under Gibbs that they were so good as a team," he added a few minutes later. "But, enough of that. What do you want to do about Tali's birthday?"

"I like the idea of pizza, cake and ice cream. I think we could decorate for a party as well; it would help everyone's spirits. We could get the other kids to help decorate, maybe even have them make some of the decorations. As for a 'family' activity, I don't know. I'm not so sure I want to leave our little safety bubble," she responded while thinking out loud.

Leon nodded, "I agree. A party might be just the thing to cheer us all up. I've been trying to think of something we could all do together; just not coming up with much. There _is_ a roller skating rink going towards Winchester. But, you'd be left out. And little Arianna might need some major help."

"She'd probably cling to you," De chuckled. "She has taken a shine to you, _Uncle_ Leon. You are going to have to be a part of all of their lives from now on, you know."

"Yeah, but I kinda like being a favorite uncle…"

De put her hand on Leon's arm, "Thank you. I mean that sincerely. Thank you for protecting us, for caring about the kids, for everything."

~Vigilante~

_Near Fayetteville, North Carolina_

Two sheriff's deputies escorted the prisoner to the courthouse. Neither one had been particularly eager to be assigned to this detail; in fact, none of their colleagues had wanted the assignment. Even when the shift captain offered a significant cash bonus, no one stepped forward. It had come to drawing names from a hat.

Oliver Mercane, former US Army sergeant, had been charged with the killings of three young Army privates outside a sleazy gentlemen's club near the base. His attorney had managed a plea bargain in exchange for information about two others involved in the brutal slayings. Mercane was to be sentenced that day by a judge who was rather displeased with the plea bargain.

Nick Torres was perched atop a building overlooking the rear entrance to the courthouse; his sniper rifle loaded and already aimed for the kill. He grinned to himself as he waited for the sheriff's patrol vehicle to arrive. His bike was parked in a parking garage three blocks over; the ride down from DC had been smooth and uneventful.

He noticed movement by the rear of the courthouse and went full alert. The two deputies escorting Mercane looked bored and uninterested. Neither one bothered to scan for threats as they pulled him from the rear seat. One of the men shoved Mercane forward as the two deputies secured their vehicle and holstered their fire arms. Nick had the perfect shot. He pulled the trigger and watched as Mercane dropped to the ground. His job was done; he packed up his rifle and made his way back to his bike for the ride home.

~Vigilante~

_Near Paramus, New Jersey_

The woman picking up trash along the highway for her community service never knew what hit her before she collapsed dead. Gibbs had driven past twice to make certain the woman was indeed the person who had been sentenced to one hundred hours of community service for plowing into two state troopers at a traffic stop. One trooper suffered multiple broken bones and the other was left paralyzed on her entire left side as a result of being struck by and pinned under the woman's large SUV. As he passed a third time, he lowered the driver's side window of the rental car. He slowed, aimed at the woman's head, and pulled the trigger.

Satisfied that she was gone, he glanced at his watch. Torres should be done with his job now, if not within the next twenty minutes or so. Gibbs steered his vehicle towards I-95 for the ride home. It was a good day for justice in his opinion.

~Vigilante~

Tim ran into the DiNozzo house; he'd rushed out of NCIS when news came in of the shootings in North Carolina and New Jersey. The patterns fit what the team of Operation Silver Fox had observed; what puzzled him was the two shootings were close enough in time to indicate that more than one person was involved. Or, god forbid, there was a copy-cat running loose. He preferred not to dwell on that possibility.

"Hey, Tim," Ziva looked up from her computer as her teammate entered the office. "I pulled up the tracking information that you want. Look here," she pointed to her screen. Tony and Tim both peered over her shoulder.

"Well, hell's bells," Tony growled. "Can we place them at the shootings?"

Tim motioned for Ziva to slide over and tapped at her keyboard; he scowled and then typed a bit more. A new screen popped up with a map of the area around the court house in North Carolina. "Got Torres' bike about half a mile away; looks like a parking garage."

"Shit, that means we can't pin anything on him unless we can get eyes on," Tony commented.

"Yeah, that's why I was scowling; their cameras are down and have been for the past two days."

Ziva shook her head, "Not a coincidence. What about Gibbs?"

Tim typed again and a new map appeared. "His truck is in a parking lot by the Philadelphia airport; looks like a rental car lot is right next to it. DAMN, they are getting smarter on us."

"Hmm, these were daylight killings in well-travelled and populated areas," Tony was thinking out loud. "If _I_ were a vigilante, I would do the same. Get a rental vehicle or park far enough away to not be tracked to the crime scene but close enough to get back quickly."

"Yes, but this also gives us the confirmation we needed that Torres is working with Gibbs," Ziva added. "You said he took the day off, correct, Tim?"

"Yeah, for a 'dentist appointment' is what he told me. Freaking liar; I found the files he hacked into also. I'm not really happy about what information he downloaded," Tim slid his chair back and rubbed his temples. His headache was getting worse.

"Oh?" Ziva stepped behind Tim and massaged his neck and forehead. "Relax into my hands, Tim."

Tony smirked, "Do as she says Probie; her magic hands can get rid of any headache…"

"I _don't_ need to know any more, Tony…" Tim sighed as he felt relief when Ziva hit the pressure/massage points.

"Now about those files?" Ziva reminded her friend.

"He downloaded personal information on you guys; bank records, the record of the purchase of this house; and the girls' birth records. Did the same for me."

"DAMN!" the DiNozzos spat out vehemently, together.


	6. July 2024

Chapter 6 July 2024

Tim glanced around the squad room; Ellie was busy at her desk. Diamond was down in the lab with Kasie sorting through several large boxes of evidence in a stolen property fencing ring case that the team had been assigned. Torres was god knows where; Tim was almost to the point that he wished the man would just stop coming in to work. He was almost always late, and had taken more than one personal/sick day since the North Carolina shooting.

"Ellie?" Tim walked over to his SFA's desk. "Got a minute?"

"Yeah, Boss; what's up?" she looked up from her computer screen.

"Not here; follow me," Tim beckoned and led her up the steps to MTAC. He shooed the technicians out of the room, telling them to take a fifteen minute break on him.

"Sit down," Tim gestured at the seats in MTAC. "This may take a bit and it _will_ blow your mind."

Ellie gave Tim a raised eyebrow and a questioning look, "Uh, okay, I guess."

Tim filled Bishop in on the pertinent details of the vigilante justice case, leaving out names of the possible shooters until the very end. He was hoping she'd see the ties and make connections for herself. "And so, when we put tracking devices on certain vehicles, we made some positive links between the cases and who we believe are the ones behind this."

The wheels were turning in Ellie's head, "Well, the weapons in some of the cases, especially the .308 Bravo 51 and the Colt M1911A1 point to one person in particular. Then the dates of some of the killings coincide with the absence of a certain other person…"

Tim nodded at the SFA, "Who do you think they are?"

Ellie sighed and shook her head; she really didn't want to think the worst of the two she had in mind, but there were enough bits of information that it was not coincidence, "Gibbs and Torres." She was blunt in her reply, still shaken to her core that two people she _thought_ she knew well were involved.

"One more thing, the first killing we could link wasn't in this country; it was in London," Tim added. "He went to England on Halloween and shot Abby."

Bishop gasped, "NO!" She drew her hands to her face and closed her eyes. Who was the person her former boss had become? Not someone she had any connection to nor did she want to have one. How could Gibbs shoot _ABBY_ of all people? Hadn't she been the favorite?

Tim glanced at his watch, "The techs are going to be back any minute now; can you meet with me outside of work?"

"Yeah; where?"

Tim handed her a small Post-It note with an address on it; Ellie glanced at the paper, noting the Queenstown, Maryland address. She looked over at Tim.

"You'll find out when you get there. Oh, and no cell communication once you get to Annapolis; turn your phone OFF before the bridge."

~Vigilante~

Nick descended the stairs to Gibbs' basement; he could hear voices from the lower level. As he reached the bottom of the steps he heard his name.

"Nick Torres, good agent, even better vigilante," Gibbs said to the third person, whose back was to Torres. "Ah, there he is now."

The man with Gibbs turned and sized up the NCIS agent. Nick had the feeling that this guy was also from one of the letter organizations. Probably holding a grudge like Gibbs and himself; the man stood almost six and one half feet tall and probably weighed close to three hundred pounds. Looked like a defensive linebacker to Torres.

"Torres meet Hampstead; Hampstead, meet Torres."

Nick stuck out his hand, "Nick." He half expected to have his hand crushed by the larger man. "Football player?"

"Briggs; good to meet you," the guy shook Torres' hand civilly. "Yep, South Carolina Gamecocks."

Gibbs cleared his throat, "Play nice later; we got a two, maybe three, person job comin' up. I need you both on your 'A game.' "

"Yes, Boss," Torres replied.

"Yes, sir," Hampstead was all business.

~Vigilante~

Ellie powered her phone down before she reached Annapolis; traffic on US 50 was congested enough that she didn't want to risk taking her eyes off the road as she approached the interchange with I-97 and beyond to the bridge. As per Tim's instructions, she also did not power on her GPS; she printed the directions on her home printer before she left her apartment.

The entire drive, she wracked her brain trying to think who lived in eastern Maryland. No one came to mind until she was on the bridge itself; it _had_ to be the DiNozzo residence. Given the secrecy, the 'no tracking' order, and who was involved in Operation Silver Fox, that was the only option that made any sense. She'd briefly seen Tony and Ziva when they came to NCIS a few months back, but had not really had a chance to talk with the former agents.

Wait, Tim said that the couple had been reinstated as NCIS special agents specifically for the case… " _WOW! I get to work with Ziva,_ ' Ellie grinned as the thought crossed her mind. She exited the highway towards her destination. A small downtown that looked pretty much like every other northeast US downtown area transitioned to clusters of houses in neat subdivisions. Somehow that just didn't seem to be very Tony. She continued as per the printed directions.

Subdivisions became larger pieces of property, some with gated driveways. Ellie shook her head; also so not Tony. Then she spotted the turn ahead; a small subdivision with large lots, large houses, and bordering the Chester River. ' _Welcome to Mallard Pointe;_ ' the sign at the entry to the subdivision made Ellie smile. She wound around the curves of the road and turned left onto Drake Circle. Three houses in, she noticed Tim's silver Porsche Boxster in a driveway behind a crossover SUV which was next to a Cadillac sedan. She parked behind the sedan, noting the car seats in the SUV.

She wondered why there were no kids' seats in the Cadillac and then the thought hit her that the car seats probably went with the kids when they were taken to the safe house. She couldn't begin to imagine the toll this whole separation from family was taking on the three inside; and poor Ziva…

Ellie had barely put a foot on the front steps when the door opened, startling her.

"Hello, Eleanor," Ziva greeted the young agent. "Come inside. We have security cameras on almost every square foot of the property since the start of this case. That is how I knew you were here." She smiled at Tim's SFA and led her to the office. "Have a seat at our conference table," Ziva pointed to the six-foot folding table. Tony had moved the chairs from the desks around the table.

"Hey, Bishop," Tony greeted his former teammate. "Can we get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Nah, I'm good," she replied as she sat across from Tony and Ziva, with Tim at her left. "What's up with all the secrecy?"

Tim took the lead, "As I explained to you in MTAC, everything about this case is covert and 'need-to-know' partly because of the suspects, and partly because of who is on the team. You are looking at three of four team members. The fourth is away on a special assignment."

Tony cut in, "We can tell her who and why; Leon Vance is providing protection for Delilah and all of our kids. We have no idea where, only SecNav knows…"

"Anyhow, this is what we want you to do, now that you have what information you need," Ziva interjected. "You of all of the agents seem to be closest to Nicholas…"

"I _WAS_ ," Ellie asserted. "He turned cold towards me for no reason."

Tony gave a wry smile, "He's pissed that you were made SFA, Bishop. Plain as day; at least to me and Ziva."

"But, why? I had seniority on the team…"

" _WE_ know that; he got his tighty-whities in a wad because of his ego," Tony smirked. Ziva slapped his arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Be nice."

"I _was_ being nice; I coulda said he got a stick up his a…" Ziva shushed her husband with her finger. "Shutting up now," he pretended to zip his lips shut.

"Wise choice, _Anthony_. Eleanor, he is jealous of you. But enough of that. You still have the closest, shall I say, relationship, with him. We need you to try to get into the circle of vigilantes as a mole with Nicholas as your sponsor, or whatever Gibbs may call it," Ziva explained. "Here is our plan…"

~Vigilante~

_Three weeks later_

Tony handed Ellie her cell phone back after he downloaded encrypted images of Gibbs' team of vigilantes from the meeting at his house the night before. "You did great, Bishop. We should be able to run facial recognition on the ones we don't already know and get some background info on all five of them."

Ellie bit her lower lip, one of her nervous habits, "I just kinda feel bad about setting Nick up; I mean we are, or is it were, friends. He's not the one masterminding this; Nick and the others are just following orders from Gibbs."

Ziva's computer buzzed, "We have our first match. FBI agent Briggs Hampstead, disciplined for striking a superior while on the job; career basically slow-tracked after that. Sending the info to you, Tony."

"Got it, will do a deep dig for background info," he tapped the keyboard furiously, starting the search for any and all they could dig up on the man. Satisfied that he had started the search, he slid his chair back. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get you a snack to munch so you don't lose your lip."

Ellie followed him to the kitchen, noting the pictures of the family on the walls in the hallway. "All girls?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Yep; who'd a thunk it? Tony DiNozzo in a house full of women? Three daughters, beautiful little girls. Well, Tali isn't so little anymore," he paused. "Shit, she turned ten last month…"

Ellie put a hand on her former teammate's arm, "You had no choice."

"Yeah, but I promised myself on her _second_ birthday that I would never miss another one. Haven't until this…" he gestured with his hands. "I feel like I've let her down somehow… Like I broke a big promise…"

Ziva overheard his words as she entered the kitchen, "I missed too many birthdays with her; I _will not_ miss another one for Tali. I will not miss any for Ariella and Arianna." Tony drew her to him wrapping his arms around his wife hoping to allay even a small fraction of her pain.

Ellie munched from the bag of chips Tony handed her and sipped the soft drink Ziva gave her. She tried not to intrude on their moment of pain, but she also snuck glances at the pair. She'd had very little chance to observe them as a married couple; most of the meetings over the past few weeks had been all business in the office. She was struck by the obvious connection between the pair; so strong a blind person could see it. No wonder people at NCIS had gossiped about them. She was about to say something when her phone rang.

Ziva glared at the younger woman, "I thought we said no phones on while you are here?"

Ellie gave Ziva a sheepish look as she checked her screen, "We got a case; I have to answer this." She turned away from the DiNozzos, "Bishop. Yeah, Nick?" She listened for a bit and then replied, "I'm on the way. Send me the location; I will meet you there." She pressed the call end image. "The drug dealers we've been trying to nail down are at a warehouse in Annapolis. Gotta go. Sorry about the phone thing, Ziva. It will be okay, I guess."

~Vigilante~

_At NCIS_

Nick Torres looked over at Kasie; she gave him the thumbs' up sign. "Gotta go right now, but put the info in an encrypted file and email to me. Then destroy all evidence of the trace on your computer and in the system. What the hell is in Queenstown Maryland? Thanks, Kasie." He ran for the elevators; he hoped the take-down of the drug dealers would be easy and he could get back to the information waiting for him as soon as possible. He needed to know where Bishop had been when she took his call. She'd tried to rat him out with the vigilantes, and he was pissed.

As he entered the elevator, he patted his jacket's inner pocket. The small caliber pistol from the evidence locker was snuggly tucked into his pocket with a clip of ten rounds. Perfect throw-away weapon for what he needed.

~Vigilante~

Ellie arrived on-scene about the same time as Tim and Alden slid up in their Charger. The two had been nearby in Bowie gathering information from a DoD contractor about the warehouses. The three were reviewing the maps and building data the men had from the contractor when Nick rode up in another NCIS Charger.

"Nick, Ellie, you two go around back of building 7, where the activity was spotted; Diamond, with me in the front. Latest intel suggests there are three men, all of them armed, inside loading a panel truck with boxes of product ready to hit the street. Any questions?" Tim looked at his team; all shook heads. "GO!"

Ellie and Nick made their way around to the back of the building; Nick pointed out the two loading docks. One was occupied by a large delivery vehicle. They could hear sounds coming from inside the building. Using several dumpsters and pallet stacks as cover, the two made their way towards the open door of the loading area.

Ellie assessed the two approaches to the dock, both sets of stairs were accessible and there were stacks of pallets for cover near each one. She pointed to the stairs to her partner, "Which side do you want?"

"Don't matter," he slid his hand inside his jacket, checking. "Either one okay."

She glared at him, no time to get into a pissing contest, whatever his problem seemed to be could wait, "You take the right, and I'll take the left then. GO!" The two snaked their way to the stacks of pallets by the stairways.

Ellie looked over at Nick; she checked the open loading dock. She motioned with her hand to go; they slid up the stairs and plastered themselves to the side of the building, inching towards the opening. Nick accidentally kicked a loose bolt on the concrete. Both froze.

"What the hell was that?" a voice growled from inside. "Mango, check it out." A large man stepped out of the doorway and spotted Nick. He raised his weapon and aimed. Ellie fired and the man fell forward with a thud. Two others ran outside with weapons drawn.

One fired in each direction; Tim and Alden came running through the inside of the building at the sound of gunshots. One of the men circled around Ellie as the other aimed at her. She tried to watch both and when she turned, Nick slipped the small caliber pistol from his pocket; he'd managed to glove his hand to leave no fingerprints and to get rid of any gunshot residue from the weapon.

Ellie turned her back to him; he aimed. "God help me, Ellie; I once thought we were friends." He shot her in the mid-back about elbow height; a second time about three inches lower, and a third time in the sacral area. He watched her fall; the hits had temporarily distracted the two armed drug dealers. Nick quickly pocketed the weapon and pulled the glove off his hand, making sure it turned inside out.

He aimed his NCIS-issued weapon at the man between him and Bishop and fired the kill shot into the man's head. Tim and Diamond ran out as the dealer fell to the ground. The third guy raised his rifle; Tim reacted instantly and fired a kill shot into the man's temple.

Tim noticed Ellie on the ground, "DAMN IT; call 9-1-1. We need an ambulance immediately." He moved over Bishop and noted that she was still breathing; her back had taken at least two, maybe three hits. Tim didn't want to move her, but pressed his jacket to her wounds to attempt to staunch the flow of blood. "Stay with me, El," he tried to see if she was conscious. "Help is on the way."

"Boss, ambulance is about three minutes out," Alden informed the team leader. "I'll go round the side to guide them back."

"Good thinking and Alden?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Tim turned back to Ellie as the young agent trotted to the side where Nick and Ellie had come to the back. He spotted the EMTs pulling into the parking lot out front and waved them back.

Nick stood to the side, trembling, and watching. He couldn't look at Bishop. "I'll go get the camera, and evidence markers, and stuff…" He dashed into the building towards the cars.

"Stay with us, Ellie." Tim said a silent prayer for his SFA as the EMTs took the steps two at a time. He moved aside to let them work.

Inside the building, Nick spied a dumpster filled with trash, broken pallets, and pieces of cardboard. He tossed the pistol, the used glove, and the cartridge with the remaining bullets into different parts of the dumpster. Satisfied that all had sunk down in the debris, he calmly walked to the cars and grabbed the evidence kits, camera, and other needed equipment.


	7. August 2024

Chapter 7 August 2024

"So the doctors are saying she will be in a medically induced coma for up to a month, depending on how her body starts healing. After that it's up to her," Tim reported the latest information about Ellie to Tony and Ziva. "The damage to her spine and spinal cord is extensive. All three bullets lodged in her spine and her neurosurgeon won't risk removing them until her vitals and brain function are stable."

"Damn," Tony shook his head. "So we have no way of knowing from which weapon the shots were fired?"

Tim ran a hand over his face and sighed, "All we know is from the x-rays. Small caliber, most likely either a nine mil or a twenty five caliber. Both fit with handguns found near the deceased at the scene. The guy who Torres says shot Ellie had four weapons; two rifles and the two pistols. One of each caliber on the pistols, both stolen items. Rifles were also stolen about a year ago."

"What happens after they stop giving her drugs to remain in a coma?" Ziva was curious; she felt bad that Ellie had been shot in a raid that should have been textbook simple.

Tim shook his head, "The doctors don't know; it's all up to her and how her body heals. She could remain in a coma, she could regain partial consciousness, or she could, gah… She could die on us."

"Sucks." Tony shuffled the pages on the table in front of him. "Here's what we have about the five we were able to identify as part of Gibbs' vigilante militia." He spread the piles by person; each one had several pictures, personal data, and expertise if known.

"First, we got Gibbs himself," Tony pointed to the pile of information about their former boss. "Trained sniper, known to bend the rules, has murdered before, trained investigator. Pissed at the system for forcing him to retire… Lone wolf until now."

Ziva spread the file about Hampstead on the table, "Briggs Hampstead, FBI. Has a record of disobeying protocol; several disciplinary actions against him at the Bureau. Stuck in a slow-track because of his temper it seems. Grew up poor in the housing projects in Philadelphia. Played football in high school and was first-string for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Had a history of tantrums on the field though. Until now he was also the lone wolf type. His FBI profile shows extensive training in hostage negotiation, witness protection, and a high level of competency with firearms."

"Nick Torres, NCIS. Has been deep undercover in the past. Has a bit of a temper, and an attitude," Tim held up the file on Torres. "He has been a lone wolf as well. Firearms certs are all in the competent to highly competent range. His recent training in firearms has been with sniper-type rifles. Jealous that Bishop was made SFA when Gibbs retired. Still pissed that I _won't_ make him SFA now."

"Darla Langston, the lone female in the group," Ziva spread the pages of the file across the table. "Former Army CID, excellent weapons skills. Trained as a sniper before cross-training for CID. No known employer at the moment but is on full disability from the military. Honorably discharged after a hostage situation went bad; was treated by a psychiatrist for PTSD because of it for six years. Not known if she is currently under treatment or therapy."

Tony spread the final stack of files in front of the other two, "Rick Milham, NCIS agent. Assigned to desk duty as an archivist. He scans paper documents from old case files from twenty or more years ago to make the records digital. Saves space in storage to eliminate all those boxes of paper. Anyhow, he threatened his former team leader with bodily harm; was disciplined because of it and then later had the incident "removed" from his service record when said supervisor was convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering. Milham was offered a severance package that he didn't like; stated that he wanted his full retirement or he wasn't leaving. So he got sent to be a paper-shuffler in the case archives. Has made it known that he holds former Director Vance responsible for his current situation and lack of promotions that Milham felt he deserved."

"It is a common theme, all of them are angry with the system for one reason or another," Ziva noted. "And all of them have been described as 'lone wolf' also."

Tim sighed and blew out a breath, "So how do we keep track of _five_ of them when there are only three of us?" He was glad that SecNav had sent Diamond and Torres to another team and requested that Tim's status be changed to 'special mission for SecNav' in official records of job assignments.

~Vigilante~

"Unka Leon," Arianna poked at his arm. "Unka Leon," she tried again a bit louder and a bit harder with the poking. "Wake up Unka Leon. Me scared."

"Arianna? What's wrong baby?" Leon sat up wiping the sleep from his eyes; he glanced at the clock on his nightstand. 0445; daylight was just starting to peek through the window blinds.

"Me scared," she held out her arms to be picked up. Leon lifted the little girl onto the bed beside him.

"What scared you? A bad dream?"

She shook her head and opened her eyes wide as saucers. "HIM," she pointed at the doorway to Leon's room. He followed her finger to see Gibbs standing in the door.

"What the fu… freak? How did _you_ get in here?" Leon moved off the bed and stood in front of the child, placing himself between her and Gibbs.

"Won't harm the kid," Gibbs smirked at his former coworker and boss. He raised his hand and shot into the other man's knee. Leon noted no sound so the weapon must have a silencer.

Leon crumpled to the floor in pain, "Damn it; why did you do that?"

"YOU A MEANIE HEAD!" Arianna shouted at Gibbs. "MEANIE, MEANIE; BAD MAN! YOU HURTED UNKA LEON!"

Delilah heard the shouting from her room; she quickly sat up and maneuvered into her chair. She grabbed the firearm that Leon had placed in her nightstand 'just in case' and silently wheeled towards the shouting.

"Arianna Maria DiNozzo, born 13 January 2022," Gibbs spoke woodenly, no trace of emotion in his voice. "The spawn of…"

"What the?" Delilah cut Gibbs off from behind. "How the hell did _you_ get in here, much less find us?"

Gibbs spun around to face Delilah; Leon took advantage of the distraction to pull his weapon from the nightstand. He eased up onto the chair beside the bed, grimacing in pain from the wound in his knee.

"Arianna, get under the bed; let's play active shooter drill," Delilah shouted to the little girl.

"K," she dove under the bed as instructed by her aunt. Leon made a mental note to thank De for her quick thinking later.

Gibbs turned around to Leon; he spotted the weapon in the man's hand and put a bullet through the former director's wrist. The pistol that Leon had been holding clattered to the floor.

"Gibbs, why are you doing this? Come on, Leon is your friend." Gibbs spun on De, aiming the pistol in his hand at her head. "You don't want to shoot all of us."

He growled, "Don't wanna do none of it; forced to do things my way by him." He jerked his thumb at Vance who was fighting to stay conscious with the pain. Luckily, he wasn't bleeding much, so far.

"What _do_ you want?" Delilah persisted, trying to talk Gibbs down.

"Get all the children in one room; get him a towel or something to wrap around his wounds. Don't try nothin' stupid; I got others watching the house outside. DO IT, NOW," he waved the gun at her. "Arianna, come out from under the bed; game's over."

"NO, AN' DE NO SAY SAFE WORD."

Gibbs noted that Delilah was too far away to say whatever the child was expecting to hear; he looked to Leon, "What's the kid talkin' 'bout?"

"Have… safe… word… so… kids… know… it…" he groaned loudly as his wrist suddenly felt as though it were on fire. The bullet was probably lodged against a nerve bundle. "Know… it… is… safe… to come… out… of… of…" He took a deep breath, "Hiding."

"You gonna tell me? Or make me guess?"

"Arianna… you can… come… out… 'kay… now…" Leon spoke around flashes of pain in both his knee and his wrist. " _Nes qatan._ "

" _Toda raba_ ," the little girl peeked out from under the side of the bed. "Meanie head go away?"

"Not... yet, baby… but... come... on out," Leon struggled to sound normal; he didn't want the child to be any more scared than she already was.

Gibbs pulled the wheeled office chair from Leon's computer desk over to where the man sat. He shoved him into the wheeled chair roughly. "Where would she gather the other kids?"

"Living room." Vance pointed with his good hand in the direction of the room.

De had awakened each of the four other children; Johnny and Morgan were both asleep on Morgan's bed. Ariella had crawled into Tali's bed during the night. "We got a situation, head to the living room, quietly," she instructed the kids. "Sit on the sofa and be as quiet as you can. Okay?"

The kids all nodded and walked quietly to the living room as asked. De noticed Gibbs pushing Leon on his office chair. Arianna was holding her uncle's good hand and looked terrified. From the look on the child's face alone, De knew that it would take her a long time to forgive her husband's former boss for whatever he was doing, if ever.

"Delilah, Leon, don't even think about tryin' anything stupid. I'm gonna put him next to you, but away from the kids," Gibbs wheeled Leon to the opposite side of the room from the sofa where the four older kids sat. Both adults could see the fear on the children's faces. "Arianna, go with your sisters. NOW!" he barked at the little girl. She ran to Tali who wrapped an arm around each of her little sisters; Johnny and Morgan held hands as they watched wide-eyed.

Gibbs used a belt and one of the towels De brought from the hall linen closet to make a bandage of sorts for Leon's knee. He also wrapped the belt around Leon's good leg, effectively binding the man's legs together to keep him from trying to stand or move. As added prevention of movement, he wrapped duct tape around both legs as well. He used a second towel to wrap around Leon's wrist and then duct taped his arm to the chair's armrest. He didn't bind Leon's left arm.

He then turned to Delilah and dropped a smart phone in her lap, "Want you to make a video for me. As she nodded, he continued, "Will tell you when to record."

Finally, Gibbs strode over to the sofa; he looked over the five frightened children. "Arianna, the youngest DiNozzo – David spawn. Talia DiNozzo, born 7 June 2014, a month early. Oldest DiNozzo – David spawn. Ariella Eve DiNozzo, born 18 October 2020; they didn't waste any time when _she_ reappeared." He pointed at each of the girls as he spoke.

"John McGee; Morgan McGee, born 21 November 2017," he returned to Tali. "Tali, get up." He motioned with his hand for the ten year old to rise. "Leave your sisters on the sofa." Tali rose and looked Gibbs in the eyes. He swore she was channeling her mother with the look she gave him.

"Walk in front of me towards Delilah," he ordered. Tali obeyed and no sooner had she moved so her back was to the man than he grabbed her around the neck and shoulders. He pulled a knife from his pocket and held it at the girl's throat. He nodded at De, "Start recording NOW."

De hit the button to start the video; she could see the fear in Tali's eyes, but she could also see Ziva's fiery determination and Tony's dogged persistence. She prayed that Gibbs would keep his promise not to harm any of the kids.

"DiNozzo, David, McGee; I _know_ you three are somehow trying to bring me in. I warned all of you to leave me alone and let me do things _my_ way. Would hate to see this girl have to lose her mother again and have her father be absent from her life again. Would hate to see any of these five kids be without a parent or two.

"Ya need to back off; leave me and my team to do our jobs. I could very easily take your kids from you like my Kelly was taken from me; ain't hard to do these days. While you're at it, ya need to send help to this location for Leon. He's not doin' too well at the moment. Multiple gunshots to the limbs…" Gibbs sneered at Vance.

"Stop the video," he barked at Delilah. She pressed the button to stop recording. "Send it to DiNozzo, David, and McGee… numbers are already in the phone. Do it now, and show me proof of sending." Delilah did as instructed.

"Just one… thing…" Leon struggled to speak through the pain. Gibbs turned to the former director; Leon had the weapon that De had slipped to him in his left hand, aimed at Gibbs.

Gibbs raised his own weapon, "You don't want to kill me in front of the kids." He glared at Leon, daring him to pull the trigger.

"I want… to… know… how… you found… us…"

Gibbs smirked again, "Got my ways. But since you can't do a thing about it now, I'll tell ya. Remember that outing to the roller rink in June? Well, one of the two agents who came for extra security is workin' for me. Milham just happened to get put on that detail, and I got some much-needed intel when he recognized you."

"Milham?"

"Yeah, the one you sent to archives to scan paper into computer files…" with that, Gibbs turned and ran as fast as his bad knees would allow to the front door. He yanked the door open and flashed a light towards the driveway. Langston pulled Gibbs' truck onto the walkway to the front porch and slid over in the seat. Gibbs climbed in the driver's side and floored the accelerator; hurtling the truck down the driveway to the road.

~Vigilante~

Tony, Ziva, and Tim were sorting through case files and news reports trying to predict a possible next target for the vigilante group. Ellie's recording had captured some conversation about a job that needed two or three of the group. Tim was listening to the voice recording with headphones and digital enhancing software hoping to pick up any missed parts of the conversation.

All three of their regular cell phones chimed with the incoming text alert tones. Ziva reached over for her phone and swiped the screen, thinking that it could be an update on Ellie's condition from Jimmy or Kasie. She opened the message and dropped her phone, her mouth opened in a silent scream. Tony took one look at Ziva as her phone hit the floor and rushed to his wife's side.

"Zi? What is it?"

She pointed at her phone, "HIM… He has… he has…" She swallowed hard and fought back tears. "HE has Tali," she whispered as she flung her arms around her husband.

Tim sensed something was wrong and removed his headphones. He turned and glanced at Tony and Ziva hugging each other and staring at Ziva's phone with shocked looks. He was about to say something when he heard Gibbs' voice.

The three listened to the entire message and then Tim used his secure cell to call SecNav directly. Help and agents were on the way to Capon Bridge within minutes of the call.

~Vigilante~

Tobias Fornell adjusted the small digital recording device under his shirt for the third or fourth time; he _should_ have listened to McGee and used the device that resembled a small patch that adhered to the wearer's skin. He turned the handle of Gibbs' front door.

Gibbs was cleaning his weapons in his living room when Tobias walked in his front door; the last person he expected to see that night.

"Hey, Gibbs," Fornell greeted his long-time friend.

"Thought you retired to Vermont," Gibbs didn't look up from his pistol.

The retired FBI agent shrugged, "Vermont gets boring; decided to visit my old friends in DC."

"You're lyin'."

"Yeah, I am. McGee and the DiNozzos asked me to talk to you; try to get you to turn yourself in."

"Ain't done nothin' that calls for me to turn myself in."

"Well, I've heard differently. Heard you got yourself a vigilante group and you've been taking out cop killers, bad cops, murderers who got off, et cetera," Fornell sat on the arm chair across from Gibbs. "What ya got to say for yourself?"

"Ain't doin' anything that isn't justice."

"What about the threats on the DiNozzo kid?"

"Didn't harm her; you know I don't hurt kids. Only tryin' to get the parents off my back."

Tobias felt the recording device shift under his shirt. He tried to reposition it with his hand surreptitiously. The former NCIS agent noticed his movements and became suspicious.

"Open your shirt," he ordered.

Tobias unbuttoned his shirt and exposed the recording device. Gibbs grabbed it and threw the device on the floor. Tobias reached for the weapon tucked in the back of his waistband. Gibbs lunged and the two fought over the pistol. A shot rang out; Fornell dropped to the floor with his hands on his abdomen.

"You shot me… in the gut!" he gasped out before losing consciousness.

Gibbs watched the man bleed onto his throw rug; good thing the throw rug was just the right size to roll up around a body. He checked for a pulse, but felt nothing. He rolled the body of his former friend in the rug. He dialed a familiar number on his cell.

"Hampstead, I need a favor. Need you to help me move a damaged carpet tonight."

An hour later the two men were in Gibbs' truck outside the NCIS main gate. They waited for the usual early morning delivery trucks to queue at the entrance. With the guards distracted, the two men carried the rolled up carpet to the sidewalk near the gate. The two then left in the opposite direction from the guard house, using the eighteen-wheeled delivery trucks as a block to visuals.

~Vigilante~

Tim, Tony, and Ziva sat in the director's office with SecNav and the new NCIS director; the room had been secured prior to anyone speaking.

"Are we any closer to having anything that can stick as far as charges?"

"Kasie is working to enhance the video from the main gate; if we can get a positive id on the two individuals who left Fornell for dead at the gate, we can start there with charges," Tim explained. "By the way, how is he doing?"

SecNav had a grim look, "He is expected to pull through; lost a lot of blood and nearly bled out, but the surgery repaired the hole in his intestine. He'll have a long road ahead to recovery though."

"What about the kids, Delilah, and Leon?" Ziva asked.

"They are in the safe house; two more agents are guarding them twenty four seven. Leon has a cast on his arm and on his leg; the bullets were removed as you know. The one in his leg shattered the patella; he may need rehab after the cast comes off.

"Two additional armored vehicles, identical to the one Leon was using, were sent late at night to whisk the five kids and Delilah away from the safe house while Leon was at the ER in a nearby town. The three vehicles travelled north to a grain farm outside Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Two of the vehicles entered the farm property; the third vehicle returned to the prior location," SecNav told the parents as much as she could without revealing the location of the two families. She knew that the third vehicle had been the one with De and the kids. It was a brilliant plan; take them back to the safe house that had been home since March. NO one would even think to look for them there since the location had been compromised.

"Let's wind this up as soon as possible; I'm authorizing whatever you need to bring this situation to a swift end. You name it; you got it, within reason."


	8. Late August 2024

Chapter 8 Late August 2024

The three members of Operation Silver Fox were laying out plans and strategies in the DiNozzo home office. Ziva tossed out the idea of setting up a fake safe house to lure Gibbs and his team out.

"We'd need more of _us_ ," Tony stated emphatically. "There are five, or maybe even more, of them and only three of us with Leon still with De and the kids. Gotta admit I was surprised he chose to stay; gotta be tough having an arm and a leg in a cast."

Tim studied the tentative plan they'd outlined to detain Gibbs and his gang by luring them out; he liked the idea, but agreed with Tony that they would need more people on their team. "I think I can get Diamond back on my team," he said, thinking aloud. "He's a good kid; got a good instinct."

"Yes, I was impressed with him when your team investigated the bouncy house incident at your house," Ziva nodded her agreement. "I cannot believe that was almost five months ago…"

"I want a team, two or three who have had agent training, have firearms certs, but not necessarily field agents," Tony started laying out his idea. "At least one more for Tim's team besides Diamond."

Ziva looked up from her doodling, something she did when thinking, "I will volunteer for sniper duty."

"Are you _sure_ , Ziva?" Tony locked gazes with his wife.

She nodded without hesitation, "He tried to harm my babies; the man I once looked at as a father figure no longer exists. If things get ugly, you want someone who can take him out with a single shot and do it by surprise. I am the perfect person for the job; my Mossad training may have been a long time ago, but I can still get the kill."

Tim shook his head, when had it turned to talk of taking down their former boss with a single shot. "I just… I still have a hard time… processing that Gibbs, the man we all looked up to, _GIBBS_ …"

~Vigilante~

_Near Capon Bridge, West Virginia_

"Unka Leon, you gots owies," Arianna was seated in Vance's lap in his wheelchair. "But you gots wheels like An De." She handed him her story book, "Please read story?"

Delilah watched her niece snuggle into Leon's chest; the littlest DiNozzo had grown quite attached to the former NCIS director. She suspected that his return to living in the safe house with them had a lot to do with the child's fondness for her uncle.

The other four were playing a board game at the table in the kitchen; De was relieved that the kids were for the most part resilient when it came to the incident with Gibbs. Tali sometimes sought out her aunt to talk about that morning. Oddly enough, Tali wasn't concerned for herself; her biggest worry was that she 'failed' her sisters. When De pressed her, Tali admitted she felt that she should have protected her sisters from seeing Gibbs shoot Leon and from being scared. _'I promised Ima and Daddy,'_ she elaborated.

When the team had arrived to move the families to a new safe house, De had to explain to the children that they could only take a few things with them. Tali had immediately grabbed Kelev, her now well-worn stuffed dog that had been with her for most of her life. The kids had very little time to stuff treasured toys or books, a few pieces of clothing, and their tablets into a backpack for the trip out in the armored vehicle.

When the caravan of SUVs arrived at the old grain farm outside of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the adults all shook their heads. Whatever was supposed to be at the farm for living arrangements was not what was actually there; a two bedroom single-wide mobile home that had seen better days sat on a small pad. There was _no_ way five kids and an adult in a wheelchair were going to live there.

While one agent went back towards town to get a cell signal, De had suggested to the other two agents that they circle back to West Virginia. Her reasoning had been simple; if Gibbs thought he had compromised the safe house, he would also reason that the family group would be moved elsewhere. The absolute _last_ place he would look for them would be the old safe house. SecNav approved the plan and the lone SUV turned back south into West Virginia.

De rolled out onto the porch where Leon was already situated where his favorite chair had been. He looked pensive, she noted.

"Penny for your thoughts," she quipped.

He sighed, "Five months, Delilah… I thought it would be over and closed case by now. I feel like I've let you and the kids down."

"Hey, you didn't _have to_ come back with us, but you chose to do so. I for one really appreciate that. I _know_ the kids are very happy to have you here. Arianna especially; she has become quite attached to you," De replied.

"She is a part of the reason I _did_ return."

"I know."

~Vigilante~

_At NCIS_

"Thanks for coming in and for expressing an interest in joining my team," Tony shook hands with the young man opposite him. "I'll be in touch within the week with my decision." The agent exited the conference room as Tony gathered his files and notes from face to face interviews with the possible agents to join his new temporary team. The one who had just left, Matthew Harrison, had really impressed the senior agent. Two others stood out, but he would sleep on his decision and run it by Ziva before making the final choices. She'd observed the interviews via closed circuit monitoring.

Tim had Alden Diamond back within twenty four hours of making his request to Director Cole. He was also interviewing candidates for adding a third person to his team. The three former teammates of the MCRT had agreed to sort out the choices together back at the DiNozzo house.

Tim followed Tony's Cadillac to Queenstown; they stopped to pick up a large pizza and a six-pack of beer in town. Once at the house, Ziva suggested that they eat dinner, and then relax for the evening, postponing reviewing the candidates until morning.

"We have been busy all day, from 0700 until 1900; we _need_ to give ourselves a break, yes?" She wanted to resolve the case as quickly as the other two, but one thing all of her years on the run had taught her was to make time for self and to recharge.

"You can stay here tonight, Probie; guest room is all yours," Tony added. "You even have your own bathroom and sitting area. Bed's comfy too."

Tim cocked an eyebrow, "Oh? Ziva kick you out of your own bed?"

Tony chuckled, "Never… we _had_ to try out that bed after we bought it…"

"Oh, god, you did…" Tim inwardly groaned; how was he supposed to sleep in that bed now that he knew that his former teammates had sex there?

In the morning, the three arose early; Ziva made omelets for breakfast and Tony kept the coffee pot full as they started the day. Tim had tossed a bit but sheer exhaustion took over and he actually slept quite well. He watched the DiNozzos as they moved about the kitchen; hands on, sharing kisses, and lingering gazes. He figured they had spent time on pursuits other than sleep in their room.

"Did you sleep well, Tim?" Ziva placed a plate of food in front of him as she spoke.

"Yes I did, Ziva; rather well, I might add. Tony was right; that bed is comfortable. And this food looks delicious, thank you," he picked up his fork and dug in.

Tony and Ziva joined him with plates of food, and the three ate in companionable silence. From the smiles and looks the other two gave each other, Tim suspected a game of 'footsie' going on opposite him. Those two never changed, and he _always_ seemed to get in the middle of it.

"So, um, how do you want to, um, go about this review of candidates?" Tim asked the other two, noting that they were conversing with their eyes as usual.

"Well, McBrother, I think first we should all shower and get dressed," Tony's eyes were still locked with Ziva's. "Then we meet in the office and present our choices to the others along with the reasons for choosing that person. What do ya say?"

Tim grinned, "Get a room you two!"

An hour later the three were sitting around the make-shift conference table, files and notes spread across its top. Tim presented his top two candidates, explaining his thought process to the other two.

"It's going to be a tough choice," he added.

Ziva skimmed the files, images, and Tim's interview notes, "Which one _felt_ right? You know, gut instinct."

"Charlene Allison, goes by Charlie," Tim responded without a second thought. The behavioral analyst turned agent had been easy to converse with, had been observant and detail-oriented, and had a skill-set they could use with the psychology background.

"Great, you got your new team member," Tony grinned. "Now I gotta pick _three_ for my team. Of the seven I interviewed, three stood out for various reasons. I don't have any ranking system for the top three, so I'll give them to you in alphabetical order. The last kid, Matthew Harrison, may not be an obvious choice, but he made an impression. He is an evidence cataloger by his job classification, but he brings so much more. He's been trained through FLET-C, has a very high rating in firearms, and has an eye for detail. Seems to be a fast learner, so we can definitely train him for what we need.

"Second choice is Anna Philip; she has degrees in mathematics, cybersecurity analysis, and life sciences. A bit of a geek, but she has outstanding scores in firearms training, and practices regularly. Calm, level-headed, analyzes a situation quickly, and is easy-going. She is a network administrator by job title, but her skills go way beyond that.

"Third up is Samantha – Sam- Thomas, a communications specialist in MTAC. She has excellent scores in firearms, knows four languages, including ASL, and can set up a secure communications system in half a day or less. High praise from her supervisor; she was the one who found the breach in the main computer network at NCIS last year."

Ziva shuffled the pages of the three files, reading over her husband's notes, "What criteria are you using, Tony?"

"I want people who are highly proficient in firearms, who can learn quickly, who can think independently when called on, and who are generally not known out in the field," he summarized his top qualifications. "I want people who Gibbs doesn't know; that way he can't try to psych them out."

"Gentlemen, I think we have your teams," Ziva handed the files to the two men. "I am keeping this one, if you don't mind. He may be someone I can train for sniper detail." She held up a folder from Tim's pile. Harland Manning was a retired Coast Guard enlisted who trained as a sniper; he joined NCIS four years prior as a file clerk for Human Resources.

~Vigilante~

"I don't freaking get it man," Nick Torres complained to Briggs. "McGee brings Diamond back on the team, but not me. He refused to make me SFA after Bishop was shot; what's he got against me?"

The two were on their way with Gibbs and Langston to their 'job' at an anti-government rally in Ohio. The group's leaders promoted an anarchist state, advocating for abolishment of all police and law enforcement agencies, and stirred up trouble where there was none. The Governor of Ohio had tried to shut them down without success. One of his aides contacted Gibbs to arrange for tonight's 'job.' The panel truck they rented was filled with communications devices, sniper weapons, silencers, rounds of ammo, and protective gear. Gibbs and Langston drove Gibbs' truck to the Cincinnati airport and rented an SUV for two days. They met Milham at the exit by Baggage Claim at the terminal.

"Maybe he's pissed 'cause you been using all your comp time?" Hampstead suggested. "You _have_ been off more than you've been at NCIS for the past two months."

"They _owe_ me that time; I still got another month of comp time coming to me," the NCIS agent added. "I freakin' _hate_ my new assignment; who the hell _wants_ to be the one to clean and inspect gear turned in by agents after it has been used for a case or in the field?"

"Damn brother, that is a sucky job."

The five vigilantes set up their individual sniper nests at various spots where the rally was to be held later that day.

"I want everyone in place by 1700; gates open at 1900, we take 'em down when all six of the leaders are on the stage. Make sure you know which one is _your_ designated target. Any questions?" Gibbs barked orders at his team of snipers.

At precisely 1923, all six of the group's leaders were lined up on the stage; as the crowd watched, five of the six fell to the stage floor. The top leader fell soon after from a single shot to the head just as his five top advisors and area coordinators had died.

By 1933, the five were in their vehicles headed south to go back to DC.

~Vigilante~

_Near South Hill, Virginia_

"I like it," Ziva commented on the safe house property that would be used for the set-up to lure Gibbs and his band out. The house had been on the roster of safe houses for twenty five years, so he would surely know of its location. She had selected several possible positions on the property for setting up her sniper's nest.

Tony liked the open area around the house; no places for Gibbs' gang to hide and take potshots at his team or Tim's team. They could see the group of vigilantes approaching the house from inside, setting the trap. He handed SecNav the list of fire power he wanted on hand; she nodded and pocketed the list.

"So what's next?" the woman asked the three team leaders of Operation Silver Fox.

"We plant the seed, and then wait," Tony replied. "The hardest part of all; hurry up and wait."


	9. September 2024

Chapter 9 September 2024

Tim watched as Nick Torres stood up at his desk; he ambled in the direction of the men's room. Tim made eye contact with Diamond and nodded. The two reached the entrance to the bathroom as another employee exited.

"Hey, Gonzalez, is anybody else in there?" Tim jerked his thumb in the direction of the restroom.

Gonzalez gave the MCRT team leader a strange look, "Um, yeah. I think just Agent Torres."

"Thanks; I need a place to talk with my team where no ears can pry," Tim smirked at the young man who scurried away. No doubt the man was headed to spread whatever gossip came into his head. Tim didn't care anymore. He nodded to Alden and the two entered the bathroom.

Tim quietly turned the lock on the door, then spoke, "So we had to send Delilah and the kids to another safe house."

"Oh no," Diamond sounded concerned.

"Yep, this one is in South Hill, Virginia; it's an old one that NCIS has had for years. But if they've had it _that_ long, it's gotta be safe, right?" Tim tried to sound worried.

Alden tried to comfort his team leader, "It'll be okay, you know. NCIS does a good job of protecting people." He turned to the sink and washed his hands after he flushed the urinal. Tim flashed the thumbs' up to his young agent and indicated that he should exit.

Alden slipped out of the bathroom, and Tim pulled out his phone, "Hey, Tony… Yeah, I found out they are in South Hill Virginia… Yeah, that old safe house… Yep… You're welcome." He flushed the urinal and washed his hands. He dried them with a paper towel trying to listen for any sound of Torres. He _knew_ the man was in the next to last stall; he'd seen the feet slowly rise up from the floor.

Tim walked out of the restroom and went back to his desk, opening his email to pretend to read. He watched for Torres to come back to his desk. The man never returned, of which Tim made a note in the file labelled "Torres" on his NCIS-issued laptop, where he kept most of his personnel records and the team member electronic timesheets.

~Vigilante~

"Ya _sure_ it's the one in South Hill?" Gibbs asked Torres for the third time.

Nick nodded, "South Hill, Virginia; the safe house that's been with NCIS for years; that's what McGee told Diamond. When do we go?"

"Slow down, cowboy. Gotta verify before we move in," Gibbs cautioned the younger man. "Hampstead can surveille the property and report back."

"I can go now," Nick was pacing, impatient to get things done.

"Nope; they _know_ you. Don't know Hampstead."

~Vigilante~

Briggs Hampstead sat in his personal car, watching the house on the outskirts of South Hill. Two agents were sitting on the front porch watching the driveway that lead up from the road. They seemed to be ignoring the utility service cut to the south of the house; that was good for him. In the twilight he could just discern a man and a woman with his binoculars. Lights came on in the house and he could see shadow figures against the window coverings. None of them were tall; that was a good indication that there _were_ kids inside. He watched the figures move from window to window; at one of them he could clearly see what appeared to be the shadow of an adult in a wheelchair. Satisfied, he backed down to the road. Once he had a signal on his cell again, he placed a call.

"Confirmed presence of two agents, at least one adult in a wheelchair, and several kids at the location," he reported.

~Vigilante~

Tony pulled up the video feed from the South Hill property; the lone car in the driveway was the same make and model as one registered to Hampstead. Bait taken; all of the resources and time required to set up the motion-activated images and life-like mannequins at the house had been worth it. Now to determine the vigilante group's next moves.

"What did you find?" Ziva entered the home office with a plate of leftover lasagna and a bottle of water for her husband's lunch. She placed the food on the folding table and moved behind his chair at one of the computers.

Tony restarted the video capture from the South Hill property, "Looks like they took the bait."

Ziva studied the screen, watching the images carefully, "Ha, he sent the dumbest one. We got a break there; easily fooled by the imaging you set up. Now we wait for their next move, I guess."

"Hurry up and wait; never been either one of our strong suits." Tony dug into the plate of food, "Mmm, still good as the first meal was; you not eating?" He noticed that Ziva hadn't brought a plate for herself.

"I had some crackers and salad earlier; my stomach is still a bit upset," she replied. "Probably picked up something when I visited Ellie in the hospital; you know that is the worst place for germs."

Tim walked in the door as they were chatting, "Another take-down of a cop-killer came in over the feed this morning. Near Boston; the guy was just let out on parole yesterday afternoon. Seems he was shot while walking along the street where he lives."

"Hi, Tim," Ziva greeted their longtime teammate. "Would you like some lunch? There is one more piece of leftover lasagna."

"Thanks," Tim nodded.

Ziva returned from the kitchen with a plate of food and a bottle of water for McGee, "Here you go."

"Thanks, Ziva; it smells delicious as always," he dug in. "Hey, any new updates on Ellie?"

Ziva sat opposite him at the folding table, "She was able to see me, but I do not know if she recognized me yesterday. Her eyes followed me as I moved about the room. The respirator tube is out, but she still has a feeding tube. Her mother said that the doctors are optimistic that they will be able to do the surgery to remove at least two of the bullets from her spine in the next week."

"She has a long road ahead," Tony noted. "Maybe when the bullets are removed and Kasie can analyze them, we'll get an idea of who shot her."

"We can hope," Tim sighed. "I feel bad for her."

~Vigilante~

Kasie Hines shook her head in disbelief; she double checked the ballistics analysis of the two bullets removed from Ellie Bishop's spine. How in tarnation could this result be accurate?

She grabbed her cell and called Tim McGee, "Hey McGee, you are _not_ going to believe what the ballistics results show…"

She listened as he responded, "Okay, will do and get back to you." She ended the call and grabbed two latex gloves from the box. She headed to the evidence lock-up and signed in the log.

Kasie wound her way through the shelves and boxes to the one she needed. After checking the case and evidence log numbers, she put on the gloves and removed the box from the shelf. The first thing she noticed was that the seal was broken. She opened the box; the pistol that should have been inside was missing. She signed out the box and headed back to her lab.

Dusting the box for fingerprints yielded two distinct sets; one much newer than the other. She ran the newer set through AFIS and scored a hit within two minutes. Glancing at her screen, she was not shocked at the result; it had been what Tim suspected. She snagged her phone and hit redial.

"Yeah, McGee; the prints on the box are Torres. He took the weapon that shot Ellie. I think we can say he probably was the one who shot her," Kasie ran a hand over her face. "Yeah, I know… so unbelievable!"

~Vigilante~

"I wanna play outside; Tali an' Johnny an' Morgan promised," Ariella whined to her Uncle Leon as the three older kids sat at the dining room table working on schoolwork.

" _After_ they finish their lessons for today," he explained to the impatient little girl for the umpteenth time. Arianna had plopped herself in his lap as he wheeled around the table checking the completed work from the three kids. De was at the counter desk, checking the lesson plans for the day.

Ariella wandered over to her aunt, "Whatcha doin'?" The young DiNozzo was bored; her impatience adding to her boredom.

Delilah looked up from the page where she was making notes, "Hey, Ariella, I have an idea. Would _you_ like to go to school also?"

"Yep," she clapped her hands in excitement. De pulled a folder from underneath the others; the lessons for practicing writing the alphabet letters, along with pictures of things whose words that started with that letter had been for a lower grade-level than her twins. Perhaps the almost four year old would be interested.

"Come sit at the table," De put a sheet for the letter A on the table; she grabbed a pencil from the box of writing implements and handed it to the little girl. "This is the letter A. The first letter of alligator, apple, alphabet, _and_ Ariella." She pointed to the pictures and then to the child seated next to her. "Practice by tracing the lines here," she guided the girl's hand with the pencil to trace over the dashed segments to make a capital A. "Very good! Now you do the rest, and then we will practice some letter As without the helper lines."

Ariella worked diligently at tracing the letters; she stuck her tongue out when she concentrated. Leon chuckled to himself; that child was all DiNozzo. Satisfied that the children were busy with their lessons, he opened the story book Arianna chose to start reading to the youngster.

"Dat says 'cat'," the youngest child pointed to a word. It was indeed 'cat.' Leon was surprised.

"Do you know any of the other words on this page?" he asked incredulously.

"Tail, cat, run, play, ball, go, walk, s…s…sit," she pointed to the words, each one correct. "I think dis one says 'wif' and dis one says 'the,' " she added.

De had moved over by Leon and Arianna, "She can read; she isn't even three!" Leon nodded; he was flabbergasted. "I guess we need to do some sort of lessons for her also."

~Vigilante~

Members of Tony's team were sharing surveillance duty at Gibbs' house. Each one took a twelve hour shift, watching monitors from a house across and three doors down the street. They'd had a bit of luck when the house was listed for rent during the final week of August. Harrison and Philip had posed as an engaged couple looking for a place to call home for a few months. The lease was signed on a month-to-month basis and paid by an authorization from SecNav. The three team leaders _hoped_ that they'd only need two or three months maximum to get the job done.

Sam Thomas set up a complex communication system within the front rooms of the house, including a directional super-mic that could pick up sounds from Gibb's house interior, especially the living room. They couldn't always get a good sound quality from the basement, but those conversations were recorded and then Sam worked her 'magic' on the recordings with digital enhancement and separation.

The three also rotated on firing range practice; Tony encouraged his team to keep their marksmanship at peak performance. Alden Diamond and Charlie Allison took turns there as well, often meeting up with the team member from Tony's team who had practice scheduled that day.

Phone contact with Tim or Tony was limited to secure lines only; each morning the team members would have an encrypted email of tasks for the day. Any data that warranted further inspection or items of interest gleaned from recorded conversations were shared with the three main agents of Operation Silver Fox via a secure private network set up by Anna Philip and Tim.

It truly was a 'hurry up and wait' game until the afternoon all five members of Gibb's vigilante squad gathered at his house. Diamond and Harrison were monitoring the activity for the afternoon. At the appearance of each of Gibbs' operatives, the two young agents could feel the tension building and alerted the others. Thomas and Philip returned to the house from the firing range.

~Vigilante~

_Alexandria Thursday 19 September_

"We got eyes-on confirmation of the South Hill location," Gibbs updated his gang. "Torres has confirmed deliveries of groceries, school supplies, and clothing to that location."

Hampstead added his two cents' worth, "Seems to be two agents on the outside watching the place. Young kids, probably little experience in more than sitting and observing."

"Clothing sizes and school supplies on the detailed invoices match what we'd expect for the kids ages and grade levels. Food for two adults who are wheelchair bound and five kids is what you'd expect also. That day McGee left his computer without logging off was a bonanza for us!" Torres smirked as he recalled the afternoon. He'd been returning from the break room when Tim suddenly bolted out of his seat and took the steps two at a time to get to MTAC. As Nick walked by the team leader's desk, he noted that the computer screens were not in the usual screen-saver that Tim used when logged off. He glanced around and skimmed the information on the three screens. He'd hit the jackpot! Using his phone, he'd taken several shots of the information about the safe house, supplies deliveries, and detailed invoices of orders made for the two families.

"So there are five of us, all able-bodied and trained shooters; two _young_ and _inexperienced_ agents and two cripples plus five rug rats in the safe house," Milham summarized. "Piece of cake."

Gibbs slapped the back of the man's head, " _Never assume._ Rule 8."

Milham rubbed the back of his head, "Yes, Boss. So what's the plan?"

"We go in as a team, from the utility cut. Langston, Milham, Hampstead will circle around front, take out the two agents outside. Torres and I will circle around back. Once we have confirmation that the ones out front are down, we storm the house. Catch 'em by surprise," Gibbs elaborated.

"I vote for dinner time," Langston suggested. "They'll all be in one place."

"Crack of dawn would be better," Nick argued. "If they are asleep when we enter, they'll be less likely to put up a fight. That way, too, if they have weapons like they did in the other house, we can keep them from getting to the firearms."

Gibbs liked Nick's idea, "Leon had his service pistol in his nightstand last time. I don't know where Delilah had her weapon, but I'd bet it was same. They wouldn't want the kids getting hold of them."

"When do we act?" Hampstead was getting as antsy as Nick; he wanted action and the thrill of it all.

"I vote for tomorrow," Nick also wanted to get the thrill.

Gibbs shook his head, "Nope. We wait for Saturday; less likely that they are on any set schedule on the weekend. More likely to sleep in."

Langston nodded, "So Saturday early morning?"

"Yep; and if we succeed we can lure out the three I _really_ want to terminate," Gibbs smirked at the others. His new team was much more loyal than the three who had betrayed him.

~Vigilante~

"HOLY CRAP!" Harrison was moving files to the secure sharing system as fast as he could. Thomas was on the secure cell with Tim, Tony, and Ziva sharing the information just learned.

"Stay put until further instruction," Tony ordered the four at the house on Gibbs' street. "We'll be in contact within six hours with instructions for the next phase of Operation Silver Fox. Over and out."

Ziva and Tim shared an eye-roll. "Tony, this is not one of your Bond movies," she quipped.

He grinned at her, "I _know_ that; I just always wanted to say 'over and out' for a mission. Anyhow, time to put the plan in action. Ziva, check on the supplies, especially body armor, ammo, and firearms. Tim, verify the secure channel for communication while we are en-route and on-site. Tony, make sure all vehicles are operational and ready to roll."

Within six hours, each of the team members of Tony and Tim's teams were headed to Quantico via Amtrak. Tony, Ziva, and Tim were taken to the Marine base by one of SevNav's drivers using an armored SUV. Additional SUVs and a panel truck were waiting for them at the base. The panel truck had an arsenal of weapons, ammunition, and body armor for the team.

Tim went through the roster to mentally focus, "Tim, here; Tony, here; Ziva, here." He looked at his longtime teammates; they each gave him a thumbs' up. "Alden, here; Charlie, here; Anna, here; Matthew, here; Sam, here," he glanced at the others. "We're in uncharted waters here; while the three of us who were on the MCRT _know_ Gibbs and how he thinks, we still have the variable of his change in behavior that makes him somewhat unpredictable."

"Yeah, and we have a group of four others, three of whom none of us know other than on paper," Tony added. "Nick is a hot-head; that we know. Hampstead has a temper; Milham has an axe to grind; and Langston is a loose cannon. _All_ of them have a beef with the system that they believe screwed them over. SecNav has given permission to act with extreme prejudice, meaning we go for the kill if necessary." He scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled, "Anyone want out? Now's the time to say if you don't think you can handle the job." He looked around at the two teams.

All of the young agents nodded that they were ready to go; several gave the former SFA a thumbs' up gesture. Ziva gave her husband a grim nod; she would have no problem taking down anyone who was a threat to her children.

"Okay, then… My team will be positioned in the barn out in the back of the cleared area. We'll pull the vehicles into the barn to keep them out of view. Tim's team will start out in the double-wide next door to the north. Ziva, you will take your position around midnight or so," Tony laid out the plan to the others.

"I will be in the oak tree by the house; once Gibbs' team moves on to the property, I may move onto the house roof for a better shot if needed," Ziva outlined her part of the operation. "DO NOT look for me in any way. They cannot know or even suspect that I might be hidden in a sniper nest, especially Gibbs. The element of surprise is my friend."

Tim assigned team members to vehicles, "Diamond, Philip, and Allison, you take the first SUV. Thomas and Harrison, the second SUV. The DiNozzos and I will be in the panel truck with our supplies. Are we ready? Good, roll out of here at 1930. In the meantime, get some sleep."

~Vigilante~

_Potomac Mills Mall, 0300 Saturday_

Nick Torres tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of the rental SUV. Its darkened windows were perfect to conceal the weapons, ammunition, and body vests he had in the rear cargo area. He watched for the others to arrive at the designated meeting area behind the Potomac Mills Outlet Center. Milham was supposed to be bringing a small cargo van with their other weapons and gear.

Hampstead sat in the front passenger seat wishing Nick would stop the infernal tapping. He was nervous as a tick on a coon dog already; he didn't need Nick's nervous energy to compound his own. "Hey, you mind stopping the tapping?"

"Sorry man; I get this way when the adrenalin kicks in," Nick put his hands at his sides as a vehicle approached with its headlights off. "Looks like we got company."

Two flashes; Nick responded with same. The cargo van parked alongside the SUV. Torres lowered his window to Gibbs in the driver's seat of the van. Milham was in the passenger seat, grinning like an idiot. Langston yanked the rear door of the SUV open and hopped in. She smirked at the startled expressions on Nick and Briggs' faces.

"Distraction is your enemy, boys."

Gibbs signaled for Torres to follow him, and the two vehicles eased onto I-95 for the ride south to I-85 and the state line. South Hill was about to become real.

~Vigilante~

_South Hill 0400 Saturday 21 September 2024_

"We have confirmation of movement," Tim spoke into his headset as he monitored the device on the cargo van via a laptop. They had gotten a lucky draw when Milham offered the use of one of his personal vehicles to Gibbs' army of vigilantes. A tracking device had been placed on the underside of the vehicle back in August.

"Everyone in place?" Tony called for a check-in.

"Same as an hour ago," Ziva responded dryly. She really preferred radio silence, but she also knew her husband well. Tony needed some conversation to make his waiting tolerable.

At 0550, movement was detected on the utility cut. Ziva used her night scope to confirm the approach of the two vehicles.

"One SUV and one small cargo van approaching via the utility cut," she confirmed to the others.

"Daybreak in about thirty minutes," Tony added.

At 0623, Ziva conveyed the final message before radio silence, "Confirmed five individuals, heavily armed, exiting the vehicles and heading this way. Radio silence NOW."

Tim's team exited the trailer across the street and carefully snaked through the trees along the driveway; they stopped at the tree line, staying out of view. All eyes were on the front porch where two mannequins awaited their fate.

Tony's team positioned themselves at the main door of the barn, again staying hidden in the shadows until further orders. Ziva remained hidden in the oak tree, watching with her scope for as the five vigilantes approached the house.

Those who could see watched as three of the figures separated from the other two and made their way to the front porch. Tony quickly noted that Gibbs and Torres were the two who hung back and then crept along the brush line towards the back of the house.

Tim watched as the three jumped on the porch, two of them grabbing the mannequins by the neck; he had to bite his lip as they realized the figures were fake.

"Boss, we got a problem," Hampstead spoke into his comm device.

"Ya gonna tell me or make me guess?"

"They're dummies; one of 'em's got a wire going into the house," he responded. He was about to add more when the small explosives set in each window detonated blowing out the panes of glass. The three on the porch dove for the ground.

"SHIT," Gibbs cursed under his breath. "Let's go Torres; back door. We take cover in the house and fire on anything that moves."

Out front, Tim's team moved in. "Raise your hands and surrender; we have you outnumbered," Tim yelled. "If you do not do as I say, we shoot to kill."

The three vigilantes started firing at the agents; the three agents returned fire, using the trees in the front yard as cover to move in. Ziva slipped on to the roof of the house.

Out back, as Gibbs and Nick prepared to make a dash for the back porch, Tony's team came out of the barn.

"Put your weapons down, give up without a fight," Tony barked. "I repeat, drop the weapons."

The sound of gunfire came from the front of the house. In the growing light, Tony could see the looks in both Gibbs' and Torres' eyes. They were in it for the kill; he spoke quietly to his team, "Take them down for the kill; neither of these two are going to give it up."

Harrison and Thomas circled towards the rear porch using the trees and piles of wood in the yard as cover. Tony and Philip ran quickly to an old tractor as cover.

Out front, Diamond aimed at Langston's prone figure as she took a shot at Charlie Allison as she scooted to a nearby tree. The shot from Alden pierced the former CID officer's forehead and she slumped to the ground.

Tim nodded to his young agent; no time for congratulations until the threat was eliminated. Milham ran from the cover of the front porch towards the side of the house. He was gunned down by Allison as he rounded the corner.

Hampstead fired at the agents in the front yard. Alden was moving between trees and took a round to the calf. Tim watched as the younger man grimaced and rolled behind the large oak tree next to the dummy SUV. Hampstead ran around the far side of the house towards the back yard. Tim checked on Diamond and then motioned to Allison to follow him around the house on the same side as Hampstead.

Around back, Harrison and Thomas overturned the furniture on the rear porch for protection. They took shots from behind the table they'd laid on its side. Gibbs and Torres crouched behind a stack of wood. Tony and Philip spotted Tim and Allison alongside the house. Without speaking the two longtime teammates knew the plan; surround Gibbs and Torres to force surrender or a fight to the death.

Ziva perched on the rear of the roof, her weapon aimed at the pile of wood where Gibbs and Torres waited. Gibbs stood suddenly and looked around for Tony.

Tony motioned for the others to stop. He stood from his position behind the old tractor. "Give it up Gibbs," he made eye contact with the man who had been his boss for fifteen years.

"Ah, DiNozzo," Gibbs sighed. "Always the screw-up." He glanced around to see Tim standing behind him. "McGee, I tried to warn ya." He looked around more, trying to find the third former member of his team.

"You won't find her," Tony laughed. "My _wife_ hasn't lost her Mossad skills."

Gibbs barked a loud laugh, "Gah, your wife… I _knew_ exactly what you two were up to the whole time. A pair of horny rabbits… surprised you and your whore didn't pop out a kid sooner."

Tony bit his tongue; he would not let Gibbs' insults derail his focus. "Give yourself up. We have enough to get an indictment, but if you surrender, I can get the charges reduced." Gibbs laughed maniacally.

"Torres, we have proof you shot Bishop," Tim added. "Give it up and we can get you a reduced sentence on grounds of mental illness."

"NEVER!" Torres shouted from behind the wood pile.

Ziva watched from the roof; she noticed movement to the opposite side of the house and spoke into her comm device very quietly, "Hampstead at your three o'clock, Tony." Before she finished speaking, Harrison and Thomas opened fire on the rogue agent from the back porch. Hampstead returned fire even as he was hit in the hip from a shot. He rolled behind a pile of wood.

Harrison looked over at Thomas; she was holding her head and her hands were covered in blood. He grabbed a rag that was on the porch floor and pressed it to her wound; she'd been grazed by a bullet.

"Hold this to your head; keep pressure on it," he whispered. "You're gonna be okay; it's just a graze. Sam, look at me, you know head wounds always bleed worse than they are." She nodded that she understood his request. "Stay here."

Tony watched Gibbs; he was standing still glaring at his former SFA. A long time ago that steely blue-eyed glare would have sent him into immediate compliance with the Boss's orders. Those days were long gone. The two were locked in a staring contest when Torres stood up suddenly and fired at Tim.

Ziva went into high alert at the sound of the shots. She watched as Tim jerked sideways and then aimed at Nick. Tony and Gibbs had their weapons trained on each other. Harrison and Philip were behind Tony with weapons aimed at Gibbs. In a move reminiscent of one of her old tricks, she watched her husband draw a second sidearm from his waist and aim it at Torres.

Nick raised his rifle to take another shot at Tim; Tony, Tim, Anna, and Matthew all fired at Torres. Harrison's shot hit Nick in the throat; he went down with a scream, clutching at his neck. Gibbs raised his weapon and drew a bead on Tony. Ziva flashed back to Gibbs' basement, almost twenty years ago; the kill shot on Ari. She blinked hard to clear her head, remembering the video with the man she once considered a father figure holding a knife to her daughter's throat. She aimed for the kill shot.

Tony lunged to the ground as shots rang out. Tim hit Gibbs in the lower buttock from his position on the ground where he fell in pain from the shot from Nick. He was pretty sure he'd taken a hit in his hip. Harrison's shot hit Gibbs' left knee as Philip's shot passed through his right knee.

Tony's shot, because it came from ground level, penetrated Gibbs' groin. Ziva squeezed her trigger; life seemed to go in slow motion as she watched the bullet penetrate Gibbs' forehead. He dropped to the ground dead. Ziva quickly dropped from the roof to the ground. She ran to her husband.

Tim forced himself to his feet using his rifle as a makeshift crutch; he hobbled over to Torres who lay bleeding out on the ground. He steadied himself and put his foot from his injured leg on the man's chest. He raised the barrel of the rifle to Torres' forehead.

"Give me one good reason not to blow out what little brains are in your head," he snarled at the younger man.

"Because... I'm... cute" Nick smirked despite the pain as he barely rasped out his reply.

Tim pulled the trigger sending a round into his teammate gone rogue, "Wrong. Answer. That was for Ellie." He collapsed to the ground. He looked up to see Tony and Ziva holding each other and canvassing the scene.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go; will post on 3 November. Watch for a Halloween treat on Saturday!


	10. Epilogue

Chapter 10 Epilogue

"We'll be at the hospital shortly," Tony squeezed Tim's hand as the EMTs loaded the stretcher with the younger man into the waiting ambulance. The two men locked gazes briefly before Tim was lifted inside.

Ziva melted into her husband's side, "Sam Thomas is on her way to the hospital in the other ambulance. Bullet grazed the side of her head, but she will be fine. Alden Diamond went in the same ambulance with a GSW to the calf; he was in good spirits."

"Good; Anna Philip and Matthew Harrison are talking to the FBI team now," he motioned to where the young agents sat on the tailgate of the FBI SUV with blankets wrapped around them, each nursing a large coffee. "Charlie Allison is in the FBI's other SUV; I think making the kill shot on Hampstead is gonna be hard for her to process."

Ziva nodded, "I remember my first kill… never easy for any of them. But she had no choice; if she had not shot him, Hampstead would have shot you, Philip, or Harrison in the back." She watched as Jimmy Palmer examined the five dead; she could see the pain on his face when he knelt by Gibbs's body. Jimmy shook his head in disbelief as he zipped the body bag for transport to NCIS autopsy. The FBI agents had agreed to let the NCIS Medical Examiner perform the autopsies; their ME was backed up as usual with cases.

"I don't get it, guys," Jimmy came over to the DiNozzos. "How could he do all of this?" The man waved his hand to indicate the crime scene. "He was gonna _hurt_ or _kill_ your family and Tim's."

Ziva put a hand on Palmer's arm, "We may never know why Gibbs snapped off the deep end, Jimmy."

~Vigilante~

_DiNozzo house 28 September 2024_

Ziva looked out the front window for the tenth or eleventh time that morning; she smirked to herself when she realized that her behavior while waiting was very much _Tony_ behavior. But her children were coming home; she was anxious and impatient to have her cubs back in the nest.

The extra week had allowed them to wrap up the paperwork and interviews for the case as well as return all NCIS property to the Navy Yard. Ballistics matches to weapons were made to close out over three dozen cases nationwide and the murder of Abby. Palmer's autopsy had uncovered multiple tumors in Gibbs' brain; the largest two on the temporal and frontal lobes. As noted in his final report, the tumors were a plausible explanation for the personality and behavioral changes in the man.

Tony wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Now who's the impatient one; eh Ninja?" he teased. He handed her a packet of pretzel goldfish snacks and a bottle of water, "Here, eat something to settle your stomach."

She turned in to face him, "How…"

"You barely touched breakfast; I watched you the whole time while McRavenous inhaled his pancakes."

Tim rolled into the room on his scooter, "I did not _inhale_ them; I merely ate rapidly…" He glanced over at the two who were locked in a gaze. "Oh…" he muttered to himself and maneuvered the scooter to the home office to tidy up.

Tony tipped Ziva's chin to make sure he had her attention, "Promise me you _will_ make an appointment to have that checked next week? You didn't pick some bug up at the hospital; it's been a few weeks like this."

"I will," she nodded her head. "In fact, I have already scheduled an appointment for Tuesday."

"Thank you," Tony kissed his wife, pulling back when he spotted the black extended van turn into the driveway. "They're here!" he called out loud enough for Tim to hear.

The three adults rushed to the door; Ziva helped Tim navigate his scooter down the ramps. He was still learning the nuances of being wheeled rather than on foot.

The doors of the van rolled open and the tailgate lifted as the agent driving the vehicle pressed the 'open doors' button on the dash. De and Leon were seated in the row of seats directly behind the driver's seat. The five children were in the two rows behind them.

None of the three adults approaching the van bothered to even try to hide the tears of happiness that rolled down their faces. Delilah and Leon peered out with teary faces as well.

"IMA!" a squeal from an excited little girl pierced the silence. Arianna tugged at her harness for her toddler seat. "OUT, NOW, Unka Leon!"

Leon slid in his seat to face the kids, "Remember that Aunt De and I have to get out first because we need some help. Once we are in our wheelchairs, you five are free to climb out and go to your parents."

"Yes sir," the five grinned at their uncle.

"We need him to stay for a while," Tony joked to Ziva. "They listen to _him_."

The two agents brought the adults' chairs to their respective doors and helped them out of the van. De and Tim rolled toward each other. Kids piled out of the side closest to the house and ran into parents' waiting arms.

Leon thanked the two agents who drove them back from West Virginia while watching the family reunions from the sidelines. Seeing the joy on the faces of the children, and, he had to admit, on the adults also, made it all worth the pain, the injuries, the heartache, and the long wait. He wiped the tears from his face, even as more fell freely.

The two young agents carried the suitcases and boxes of toys and books into the DiNozzo family room; Leon was about to ask them to drop him off at his house on their way back to return the van when he heard his name called out.

"Unka Leon, Unka Leon," Arianna ran over to him and wrapped her hand in his. "Ima and Daddy say you can stay wif us. PWEASE?" She grinned her DiNozzo grin at him and lifted her arms so he could place her on his lap. She slung her arms around his neck and snuggled into him.

"I can't stay here, Arianna; this is _your_ house," he started to explain to the little girl. "My house is…"

Tony placed a hand on the retired director's shoulder, "Leon, we would be honored to have you stay with us if you want. The guest suite is all yours for as long as you would like."

"The bed is really comfortable," Tim added.

Arianna gave her Uncle Leon her best puppy eyes as Ariella came alongside Leon's chair. "PLEASE?" the two said together.

Leon grinned and looked to Ziva; she nodded and smiled. "Well, I can't say no when you ask like that," he hugged the two little DiNozzo girls tightly.

~Vigilante~

_DiNozzo house Memorial Day 2025_

Tali put the last of the paper goods on the table on the screened back porch in preparation for the family gathering for the holiday. She watched her sisters playing in the backyard. She noticed someone watching her from the doorway to the house.

"What, Dad?" she sighed as her father grinned.

"Just enjoying my girls being free, being kids," Tony drew his oldest into a hug. "And promising my firstborn that I will not ever miss a birthday again, if I have any control over it."

"Thanks, Dad. It was kinda weird without you last year."

He kissed the top of her curls, noting that the girl wasn't so little anymore, "This year there are more of us to celebrate, too." Tali smiled into her father's embrace.

"Yeah, Uncle Leon is going to be here soon as well as the McGees, but that's not all," she grinned as she spotted her Ima walking across the family room. "I got a brother now too."

"Yep, before we know it, he's gonna be out there playing with Ariella and Arianna."

"Da-ad, Austin is only two and a half months old," Tali rolled her eyes. "I kinda like him being so little for now."

Ziva handed the baby to his father, "He needs a diaper change; I need to get dressed before our company arrives." She walked in the direction of the master bedroom as Tony grinned his mischievous grin at Tali.

"How 'bout _you_ change the stinky diaper since you like him being so little?" he thrust the baby in her direction.

She held her nose and wrinkled her face, "Um, no. I'm the big sister, not the parent. Besides, if he is old enough to be out there running with my sisters, then I will be a teenager." Tali watched the expression on her father's face change from amusement to shock.

"Gah, don't remind me about getting older; I don't even want to _think_ about you hitting the teenage years," he sighed. "Please keep an eye on your sisters while I get mister stink-bottom cleaned up."

Tali heard the doorbell just as Johnny and Morgan came through the gate between the adjoining yards. She thought it had been pretty cool when the McGees bought the house next door after Uncle Tim retired in October. With his permanent disability due to the hip replacement needed from the injuries from the gunshot wound, Tim had opted for medical retirement over a desk job. Having her cousins right next door also had them at the same school with her. Aunt De took a job that she could work from home; the two families were constantly moving between yards and houses.

She waved to the McGees and ran to answer the front door; Uncle Leon hobbled in with his cane. He too had moved closer, living in a townhouse closer to town. Tali was happy to have her extended family all close by after the six months of being in the safe house. She often thought that the adults had made the moves for them more so than for the kids.

"Hey, Uncle Leon; you don't have to ring the bell, you know," she reminded him. "You're family here." She hugged her uncle and led him to the backyard. "Ima is getting a shower and Dad is changing the baby. The little girls are out back with Johnny and Morgan. I _think_ Uncle Tim and Aunt De are carrying over food from their house."

Leon put the two tubs of ice cream in the freezer before stepping out the back door. Arianna spied her uncle and ran to him happily.

"Uncle Leon! Did you bring ice cream?" she wrapped her arms around the man.

"Of course, and I brought chocolate fudge ripple just for you," he placed a soft kiss on the little girl's head.

"Thank you, you're my _favorite_ uncle," she hugged him tighter.

Tim grinned at the three year old, "I thought _I_ was your favorite uncle, Arianna." He placed the large platter of pulled chicken on the table for the meal.

Arianna looked between the two men, " _Two_ favorite uncles!" She grinned at them and ran out into the yard with the other children.

"Hey," Tony stepped out with Austin in a baby sling. "Thought I heard you all come in. Ziva should be out in a minute; keeping up with our four is hectic at best some days."

"I am here," Ziva spoke from behind her husband; she carried the crock pot of baked beans to the table as De placed the basket of soft rolls next to the other food. Tali carried the bowl of coleslaw to the table as Tony called the kids in from the yard.

"Time to eat," he waved the McGee twins and his two mini Ninjas to the table. Ariella, Morgan, and Johnny hugged their Uncle Leon and eyed the food hungrily.

Plates were filled and the five older children sat at the picnic table to eat while the adults gathered at the grouping of chairs and tray tables.

"Heard from Ellie this morning," Tim informed the others. "She's in Oklahoma now, near her family. After six months of rehab, she is slowly regaining skills she lost. She still has some trouble with her words, and gets frustrated, but we had a good conversation. She can feed herself again, which she is so happy about. She can use most of her arm functions and has some feeling back in her torso. Her new wheelchair is easier for her to maneuver so I think she'll be more mobile now."

"That is great, Tim; thanks for sharing the update with us," Ziva smiled at the encouraging signs from the former agent. Ellie Bishop would be paralyzed from the waist down for life, but regaining basic skills was a first step to reclaiming her life.

Leon spoke up, "I talked to Tobias Fornell day before last. He's back in Vermont near Emily. He had a long road to recovery, but he's able to eat solid foods again finally. He sounded good. Emily and her fiancé are expecting a child in August. That'll be good for Tobias to have a grandchild."

"Another new life from the ending of a life," Tony reflected on all that had happened in the past year. Austin wriggled in his sling and Tony handed the baby to Ziva. He seemed content to be held, but they both knew it would be soon when he would wail to be fed. The child seemed to nurse constantly; he certainly had inherited the DiNozzo food gene!

The adults watched the five children at the table; almost eleven year old Tali; seven and one half year old Morgan and John (he was getting more insistent that he be called 'John' rather than 'Johnny' these days); four and one half year old Ariella; and three year old Arianna. None of them had shown any serious issues from their ordeal of the previous summer. Tony and Ziva credited De and Leon with much of the healthy resilience of the kids.

Leon raised his glass of wine, "To family."

The others raised beverage glasses as well, "To family!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos, comments and read-alongs!


End file.
